MANUFACTURING-

Arabian Mills’ board approved a SAR 461 mn expansion at its Riyadh and Hail facilities to boost production capacity, financed through the company’s liquidity and shariah-compliant loans, it said in a disclosure to Tadawul. Arabian Mills’ Riyadh facility will see a new SAR 347 mn flour mill, a SAR 57 mn feed mill, and a SAR 43 mn warehouse, while its Hail operations will see a SAR 14 mn flour mill upgrade. The projects will lift the Riyadh facility’s flour capacity by 800 tons to 3.9k tons, feed by 400 tons to 700 tons, and Hail’s flour output by 150-750 tons to 750 tons.

The timeline: Construction of the Riyadh projects is slated to run from 1Q 2026 to 1Q 2028, with commercial production beginning in 1Q 2028. The Hail upgrade will be carried out between 4Q 2025 and 4Q 2026, ahead of commercial operations in 1Q 2027.

BANKING-

The Saudi Central Bank (Sama) licensed EZ Bank — a joint venture between Qatar National Bank and Ajlan & Bros — as a digital bank, Sama saidon X. This approval brings the total number of licensed banks in the Kingdom to 39, including 15 Saudi banks and 24 foreign branches. EZ Bank will have SAR 2.5 bn in capital.

Joining the digital bank club: Vision Bank received Sama’s non-objection last month to kick off digital banking operations in the Kingdom, following STC Bank in January and D360 Bank in December 2024.

ENERGY-

Saudi Aramco-backed LNG player MidOcean Energy signed agreements to acquire a 20% stake in Petronas’ main Canadian units, it said in a statement on Tuesday. The agreement includes a 20% interest in the North Montney Upstream Joint Venture, which holds Petronas’ Canadian upstream assets of 800k gross acres of mineral rights with 53 tcf of reserves. It also includes a 20% stake in the North Montney LNG Limited Partnership, which owns Petronas’ 25% stake in LNG Canada.

More details: Once completed, the acquisition will secure MidOcean about 0.7 mn tons of LNG supply annually, with potential to increase if LNG Canada — which shipped its first cargo earlier this year — moves ahead with a second phase. The transaction is slated to close in 4Q 2025, pending regulatory approvals.

BUSINESS-

EY Mena relocated its regional headquarters to King Abdullah Financial District, moving to new offices three times larger than its previous site and able to host 1.9k employees, according to a press release. The new headquarters will serve as the base for overseeing the firm’s 8k employees across 26 offices in 15 countries.

M&A WATCH-

Windoria to buy Saudi food producer: Windoria, an affiliate of European investment firm Investindustrial, agreed to acquire Saudi food producer Al Fursan Al Maghawear, according to a press release yesterday. The transaction — the first majority takeover in the Kingdom by a European private equity-backed firm — is expected to close this month, pending regulatory approval, with terms undisclosed. The combined entity will have around USD 4 bn in sales, 5k employees, and 29 manufacturing facilities across the Middle East, Europe, and North America.

About Windoria: Windoria was formed through the merger of US-based private label foods producer Winland Foods and Italy’s tomato-based sauce producer La Doria.

RETAIL-

Diriyah Company launched Jabal AlQurain Avenue, a new mixed-use development for businesses in retail or food and beverage sectors, it said in a press release. The fully pedestrianized project will feature 56 retail units with a gross leasable area (GLA) of 7.3k sqm, 15 F&B units with a GLA of 2.2k sqm, as well as residential and office spaces.

IN CONTEXT- The avenue is part of the USD 1.6 bn Qurain Cultural District, whose construction contract was awarded in November 2024 to a Nesma & Partners-MAN Enterprise joint venture.

AlamarFoods takes control of 29 Domino’s stores in Makkah and Taif: Alamar Foods signed a SAR 40 mn asset purchase agreement to acquire 29 Domino’s outlets in Makkah and Taif, it said in a Tadawul disclosure yesterday. The company, which made the binding offer for the transaction last month, will now manage and finance the outlets.

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