Saudi businessman Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al-Humaid has acquired a 40 percent stake in the Saudi Fisheries Company (SFC) and, following the transaction, has been elevated to the company’s board chair.
The Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company (SALIC) agreed to sell its 40 percent stake in the company to Al-Humaid, Arab News reported. The stake comprises 15,977,000 shares in the company worth an estimated SAR 122.4 million (USD 32.6 million, EUR 29.2 million) and represents SALIC’s entire stake in the company.
SFC is 40 percent owned by the government of Saudi Arabia and 60 percent controlled by the private sector.
The move is one of several SFC has made recently in an effort to address mounting debts and slowed business performance. The company’s financial issues continued to intensify into 2024 after a difficult 2023 punctuated by operating losses.
With his new board chair position, Al-Humaid has pledged to retain, for a period of one year, a minimum of 25 percent of the company's shares before disposing of them by sale or transfer in any way.
“It is worth noting that Mr. Abdulaziz has extensive experience of more than 20 years in developing regional and international businesses and has extensive experience in several different sectors,” SFC said in its release announcing the decision.
In the months since the purchase and decision to appoint Al-Humaid, the company’s stock price has increased from a low of under SAR 20 (USD 5.33, EUR 4.78) in late August to a current price of over SAR 28 (USD 7.46, EUR 6.69)
Al-Humaid’s purchase, which still requires necessary regulatory approvals, came just a few weeks after SFC’s board of directors recommended reducing the capital of the company.
The board reduced SFC's authorized capital from SAR 400 million (USD 106.4 million, EUR 95.4 million) to SAR 95.7 million (USD 25.5 million, EUR 22.8 million), a reduction of slightly more than 76 percent, through the cancellation of more than 30.4 million shares.
Soon after Al-Humaid's buyout of the entire SALIC stake in SFC, also known as Alasmak, the SFC board of directors appointed Saeed Abdullah Al-Muaither as the new SFC managing director effective 15 September 2024.
