Saudi’s Arrow Offers To Acquire Egypt’s Arab Dairy

Saudi Arabia’s Arrow Food Distribution has offered to acquire Egypt’s Arab Dairy Products for 57.12 Egyptian pounds ($7.98) per share, topping a rival bid from financial firm Pioneers Holdings.

Pioneers, which already owns 25 per cent of Arab Dairy, made a bid on Tuesday to buy 60.2 per cent of the cheese maker for 56 pounds per share.

Khaled El Tayeb, general manager of Pioneers’ investment committee, told Reuters on Tuesday his company expected the bid to be accepted and had plans to restructure Arab Dairy and take it to new markets.

But as part of a disclosure to the stock market on Wednesday, Arab Dairy published a letter dated Nov. 4 from Arrow food offering to acquire 100 per cent of its shares.

Arrow, a distributor, manufacturer and retailer of food products in the Middle East, said in the letter it would accept no less than a 51 per cent controlling stake in Arab Dairy.

It said the acquisition would allow Arab Dairy to benefit from its distribution network and give it access to other Middle East markets.

Arab Dairy would decide whether to take the offer further at a meeting on Nov. 6, it said in a statement.

Pioneers specialises in brokerage services and offers market research and investment banking services for retail and institutional clients. It operates in Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain and invests in the real estate, industrial, and financial sectors.