Singapore / SG. (wi) Wilmar International Limited, Asia’s leading agribusiness group, announces that it has entered into an agreement with several Moroccan investors to dispose of its entire 30.05 percent equity shareholding in Cosumar S.A., a company incorporated in Morocco and listed on the Casablanca Stock Exchange, for an aggregate cash consideration of MAD 5,962,455,660 (USD 605 million). The carrying value of the investment in Cosumar in Wilmar’s books was USD 336.2 million as at 31 December 2022.
Cosumar’s principal business is the production of sugar through the processing of sugar cane and sugar beet in Morocco as well as the refining of imported raw sugar and the marketing and distribution of these products. The completion of the Cosumar Transaction, targeted to happen at the latest in the fourth quarter of 2023, is subject to certain conditions, including regulatory approvals. Wilmar has also, in the same agreement, agreed to acquire:
- Cosumar’s entire 45 percent equity interest in Wilmaco, a company incorporated in Morocco for a total cash consideration of MAD 85,094,052 (approximately USD 8.7 million), which will result in Wilmaco becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of Wilmar, and
- Cosumar’s entire 43.275 percent equity interest in Durrah Advanced Development Company, a company incorporated in Saudi Arabia, for a total cash consideration of SAR 242,800,000 (USD 64.7 million), which will result in Wilmar increasing its existing 5 percent equity interest in Durrah to 48.275 percent. The balance 51.725 percent interest in Durrah is held by local Saudi investors.
Wilmaco’s principal business is the production, development, processing, import, export and marketing of vegetable fats and their by‐products. The construction of the Wilmaco specialty fats facility in Morocco is ongoing and expected to complete in the fourth quarter of 2023. Durrah’s principal business is the refining of imported raw sugar and the marketing and distribution of these products.
The Wilmaco Transaction and the Durrah Transaction are subject to terms to be agreed in definitive agreements to be finalised by September 2023 and to certain conditions, including the Cosumar board approvals. When completed, these transactions will not have a significant financial impact on Wilmar. As there is no certainty that the abovementioned Transactions will be completed, investors are advised to trade with caution when dealing in the shares of Wilmar.
