Merec Industries, a company that produces corn and wheat flour, pasta, cookies and animal feed in Mozambique, has been acquired by Invictus Investment, an agri-food company focused on the Middle East and Africa.

According to a World Grain This Tuesday, the operation was carried out through the purchase of Stratton Africa Holdings Ltd, the entity that owned Merec Industries, from shareholders Amethis Fund II and Merec Financial. However, the financial terms of the transaction, announced on Monday (03), were not disclosed.

Founded in 1998, Merec Industries has mills, production units and warehouses strategically located in Maputo, Beira and Nacala, covering demand in the main regions of the country. The company has the capacity to produce 800,000 tons of wheat and corn flour a year, as well as processing 180,000 tons of pasta, cookies and animal feed. It also has storage silos with a capacity of more than 145,000 tons and a grain terminal in the Port of Maputo.

For the Invictus group, Mozambique has a promising market for wheat-based products, driven by population growth and urbanization. "With a population of over 34 million, Mozambique is an attractive growth market for wheat-based products," said Invictus Investment CEO Amir Daoud Abdellatif.

According to the source, the company forecasts an average annual increase of 6% in demand for the cereal by 2027 and growth of 9.5% in the pasta market.

"This acquisition is expected to allow us to expand our agri-food business in Africa, increase our revenues by more than 272 million dollars a year and double our earnings before interest by 2025," added Amir Daoud Abdellatif.

(Photo DR)