Key role for HSBC in Almarai deal

HSBC acted as the sole financial adviser to Almarai Company in its 100 percent acquisition of Fondomonte S.A., a company that owns and operates three farms in Argentina. The transaction value is SR312 million ($83 million), financed by Almarai operating cash flow and by Murabaha financing. \"We are delighted to be the sole advisers of Almarai in this important cross-boarder transaction,” said Walid Khoury, CEO of HSBC Saudi Arabia. “This transaction demonstrates our ongoing commitment to key clients in the Kingdom, where we combine our local expertise and global platform in serving our Saudi clients’ objectives.” HSBC Saudi Arabia Limited has been a proactive partner to Almarai for many years, having acted as sole financial adviser to Almarai in its 100 percent acquisition of Western Bakeries Company and International Baking Services Company in 2007, and as financial adviser to the company\'s SR2.30 billion ($614 million) initial public offering in 2005. The transaction reinforces HSBC Saudi Arabia Limited\'s leading investment banking position in Saudi Arabia, and is one of the first acquisitions of a Latin American business by a Saudi company.