Saudi Arabia’s SALIC Announces First Agricultural Investment in Australia

RIYADH/PERTH, April 4, 2019 - Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company (SALIC) Australia announced the acquisition of Baladjie Pty Ltd on Thursday April 4, 2019. Baladjie is an aggregation of over 200,000 hectares of farming in Western Australia’s wheatbelt that also carries a 40,000-head Merino sheep flock. The aggregation comprised John and Julie Nicoletti’s farming interests and other third-party options. The transaction closed today after receipt of non-objection approval from Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB).

General aerial view during wheat harvest season of Baladjie, a mega farm of 200,000+ hectares in Western Australia’s wheatbelt that also carries 40,000 Merino sheep. Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company (SALIC) Australia announced the acquisition of Baladjie Pty Ltd on April 4, 2019. [Photo courtesy of SALIC]

Commenting on the deal, SALIC KSA CEO, Matthew Jansen, said: “The acquisition of Baladjie is an important step for SALIC as we continue to build our global footprint in a meaningful way.  It is our first acquisition in Australia as well as our first investment in sheep production.”

SALIC’s Head of Production Agriculture Investments, William England, said that the local team will build on the legacy of John Nicoletti with plans to manage the livestock and grain production enterprise for the long term with a focus on sustainability, profitability, environmental responsibility and support for the local rural community.

SALIC Australia is a wholly owned subsidiary of SALIC KSA, a Riyadh-based investment company 100% owned by sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF). SALIC aims to be a world-class food security focused agribusiness investment company, making sizeable, meaningful and scalable investments while ensuring a balanced risk optimized portfolio. SALIC focuses on the food security objective of Saudi Arabia while maintaining commercial discipline, investing in new projects while taking existing agribusiness projects to new heights.

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