RIYADH: The Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Co., SALIC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Public Investment Fund, signed an agreement to acquire 35.43 percent of Olam Agri Holdings for SR 4.65 billion ($1.24 billion). The transaction is expected to be completed in 2022 after obtaining the required approvals from the relevant authorities, SALIC said in a statement. “Our partnership with Olam Agri aims to develop and support SALIC’s mission as PIF’s investment arm in the food and agriculture sector,” SALIC CEO Sulaiman Al Rumaih said. He added that SALIC has extensive experience in the food and agriculture sector, which contributes to maintaining food security in Saudi Arabia. “Further, the partnership with Olam will enrich SALIC’s roles to deliver food security in the Kingdom,” he said. Al Rumaih explained that Olam’s commercial success, expertise, scale in key commodity sourcing, and processing will add significantly to SALIC’s international portfolio, Al Rumaih explained. He also pointed out that SALIC will continue to integrate both existing and future investments. Olam is one of the world’s leading commodity trading and processing companies specializing in grains, oilseeds, rice, and animal feed, present in 30 countries with more than 9,100 employees. In 2021, Olam handled more than 40 million tons of products and recorded revenue of more than $23 billion.