Minerva Foods Australia acquires Australian Lamb Company for $254m

Minerva Foods Australia, a joint venture (JV) between Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company (SALIC) and Minerva Foods, has acquired the Australian Lamb Company (ALC) for AUD 400 million ($254.3 million).

The Australian Lamb Company is a meat producer in Australia, which has a couple of meat processing facilities in Victoria.

The meat processing company has a capacity of up to 3.78 million heads per year, which is equivalent to nearly 100,000 tons of lamb and sheep meat.

The Australian Lamb Company caters to the domestic market with its meat products, and is said to export to over 70 counties.

Minerva Foods Australia, a JV of SALIC and Minerva Foods, acquires Australian Lamb Company. Photo courtesy of SALIC (Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Co.)

According to SALIC Group CEO Sulaiman Al-Rumaih, the acquisition of Australian Lamb Company aligns with its strategy of contributing to the objectives of Saudi Arabia’s food security via global diversified investments in countries having competitive advantage like Australia, which contributes 42% of global red meat exports.

Sulaiman Al-Rumaih added that the acquisition furthers the expansion of SALIC Group in Australia. It follows the 2018 acquisition of Merredin Farms and setting up of Minerva Foods Australia in 2021 in partnership with Minerva Foods.

SALIC Group, which is a fully-owned subsidiary of the Saudi Public Investment Fund, has a stake of 30.55% in Minerva Foods, which operates 27 plus slaughterhouses around the world to export red meat.