Saudi's Almarai buys Argentina farming firm

Saudi Arabia's Almarai Co, the Gulf's biggest dairy firm by market value, has acquired Fondomonte SA which owns and operates farms in Argentina, to secure feed for its dairy herd and poultry businesses, it said on Wednesday. "The transaction value is SR312m ($83m) and is financed from a combination of operational cash flows and Islamic banking facilities," Almarai said in a bourse statement. Fondomonte SA has three farms totalling 12,306 hectares which focus on the production of corn and soy beans, the statement said. In June Almarai said it plans to invest SR4bn riyals in the poultry sector. Earlier this month Almarai said it plans to increase its capital by 73.9 percent to SR4bn from SR2.3bn through the distribution of one bonus share for each 1.739 shares.