Saudi Sipchem, Sahara sign binding deal for merger

Riyadh —   Saudi International Petrochemical Company (Sipchem) on Thursday announced that it has entered into a legally binding agreement with Sahara Petrochemical Company to implement a proposed business merger of equals.

Sipchem made a recommended offer to acquire all of the issued shares in Sahara in exchange for the issue of new shares in Sipchem, according to a statement to the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul).

Sipchem said that the deal will be implemented in accordance with the applicable rules and regulations of the Capital Market Authority (CMA) and the companies regulations.

Upon completion of the merger deal, all Sahara’s shares will be delisted from the Saudi bourse and Sahara will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sipchem, the Saudi petrochemical manufacturer said.

During the first nine months of 2018, Sipchem achieved a 98.9% year-on-year surge in net profits after zakat and tax to SAR 543 million ($144.71 million), versus SAR 273 million ($72.75 million).

From January to September, Sahara’s net profits after calculating Zakat and tax hiked 51.5% to SAR 530 million, compared to SAR 349.7 million in the corresponding period of 2017.