Invictus Buys Flour Mill Company in South Africa

Invictus Investment Company, which is listed on Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) and a leading agro-food enterprise in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, on Thursday said that it has signed an agreement to acquire a leading flour milling company in Southern Africa, subject to necessary regulatory approvals and transaction closing mechanism.

The acquisition is Invictus Investment’s second significant transaction in Africa in 2024, following the purchase of a 60% stake in Graderco, Morocco’s leading grains trading company, and its subsidiaries from Zalar Holding.

Graderco is one of the leading grain and cereal trading firms in Morocco, with over $410 million in revenues recorded for 2023. The company imports, stores and trades volumes ranging between 2.5 and 3 million metric tonnes of grain and grain derivatives for both human and animal nutrition annually, representing over 25% of the country’s imports.

Commenting on the announcement, Amir Daoud Abdellatif, CEO of Invictus Investment, said that the acquisition will contribute to their long-term strategy to expand the company’s agro-food business in high-potential African markets, develop new strategic partnerships, and build on their operational capabilities in the midstream and downstream segments.

In a regulatory filing with ADX this morning, he also said that the acquisition will bring the company a step closer to its goal of becoming a fully integrated agro-food enterprise in the Middle East and Africa.

Invictus Investment remains focused on exploring further acquisition opportunities, developing new joint ventures in strategic markets, and continuing its investments across key African markets, the company said in the filing.

Invictus Investment reported strong financial and operational performance, with a revenue growth of 35% year-on-year to $2.21 billion in 2023, its highest annual revenue as a listed company, compared with $1.61 billion in 2022.

It also achieved significant growth in commodity transaction volumes, which surged by over 110% to reach 5.37 million metric tonnes last year, compared with 2.56 million metric tonnes in 2022, Invictus said early this year.

UAE Firms in Africa

The UAE companies are at the forefront of securing agricultural resources in Africa in order to achieve food security for the country.

The Emirates is importing 90% of food products as the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and negative impacts of climate change exacerbated the challenge and exposed the vulnerability of their existing food supply chains, Observer Research Foundation (ORF), an independent global think tank based in India, said in July this year.

According to a BMI analysis, the UAE has 14 land purchase transactions in the works, primarily in Africa, and 56 completed agreements, the earliest dating back more than 50 years to Sudan, ORF explained.

The notable recent investments include a joint venture between Dubai Ventures and E20 Investment to build a large tract in Angola, Al Dahra, an Emirati agricultural group, is projected to acquire or lease some lands in Egypt to grow essential grains.

In Zimbabwe, a UAE-based firm Global Carbon Investments secured conservation rights over a vast 7.5 million hectares representing 20% of the country’s landmass for $1.5 billion.