M&A WATCH-

BinDawood Holding completed the acquisition of Zahrat Al Rawdah Pharmacies for SAR 441.1 mn through a share sale and purchase agreement, according to a disclosure to Tadawul. The Tadawul-listed company secured a non-objection decision from the General Authority for Competition last month.

More details: The acquisition will allow BinDawood to include pharma products at its retail outlets, expanding its footprint in the health and wellness sector. Meanwhile, Zahrat Al Rawdah will retain its brand identity post-acquisition.

STARTUP WATCH-

Palm Ventures closed its first USD 30 mn investment fund, EntArabi reports. The fund will target MENA- and US-based early-stage startups in AI, fintech, and business solutions sectors, providing financial backing and strategic support.

ICYMI- Palm Ventures participated last October in a pre-seed funding round worth USD 7 mn for Riyadh-based fintech Mala Inc.

About Palm Ventures: The company started as a business unit for a consultancy firm in 2014, evolving into a standalone company in 2021. So far, the company has backed more than 40 MENA- and US-based startups while helping government agencies implement innovative solutions.

INFRASTRUCTURE-

PIF-owned National Water Company (NWC) doubled the capacity of Riyadh’s south wastewater treatment plant with the inauguration of the plant’s third phase, taking the plant’s capacity to 400k cubic meters of wastewater per day, it said in a statement. The expansion is part of the company’s SAR 387 mn (c. USD 103 mn) plan to boost its infrastructure, coverage, and efficiency.

Part of a bigger plan: The NWC pledged to invest EUR 200 bn by 2030 in projects that support its goal of providing safe and efficient water and sanitation. In addition, the company said last month it kicked off 376 new projects worth over SAR 28 bn aiming to increase coverage of water and sewage services across the Kingdom. The company launched water and sanitation projects worth SAR 11.6 bn (USD 3.2 bn) across the Kingdom’s Aseer, Qassim, and Al Baha provinces last year. It also awarded Alkhorayef Water and Power Technologies a SAR 220 mn project to add 125k cubic meters per day in capacity to its treatment plant in Dammam and carry out rehabilitation works for another existing plant in September.

MINING-

Three sites in Madinah and the Eastern province were designated for mining complexes, the Industry and Mineral Resources Ministry said in a post on X. The allocated sites include a 108.3 sq km area southeast of Madinah, and two sites spanning 4.8 sq km and 4.3 sq km in Khafji.

REMEMBER- Saudi Arabia has big mining plans: The ministry launched a SAR 685 mnincentive package last year as part of efforts to expand the sector and tap reserves of gold and phosphate, among others. The goal is to attract local and foreign mining investors amid the Kingdom’s push to become a global hub for metals critical for energy transition and become an EV manufacturing hub. The nation’s untapped mineral resources are worth c. USD 2.5 tn, or 90% more than the last forecast in 2016.

AVIATION-

Saudia’s air cargo arm Saudia Cargo inked a MoU with the Tourism Authority to boost logistics efficiency in the Kingdom by organizing regular workshops with relevant stakeholders, according to a statement on LinkedIn. The workshops will also focus on digital communication and knowledge exchange in the air cargo sector.

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