Saudi giant looking to buy Barloworld

Saudi Arabia’s Zahid Group is in talks to acquire an African distributer of Caterpillar’s equipment, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

South Africa-based Barloworld, which is valued at about R16.4 billion, in April said it was in discussions that could affect its share price. It didn’t give details. 

While talks are ongoing, there is no guarantee that a deal will be concluded, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private. Zahid and Barloworld declined to comment. 

Middle Eastern firms have increasingly been seeking investments in Africa, jockeying for influence with established players like China and France.

ACWA Power, a Riyadh-based company, has signed a memorandum of understanding to invest $10 billion in South Africa’s renewables industry over the next ten years, while DP World, the Dubai-based logistics company, operates nine ports on the continent.

The Saudi group, a distributor of heavy equipment machinery in the Middle Eastern nation, started buying shares of Barloworld four years ago. One of its units, Zahid Tractor and Heavy Machinery Co. owns 18.9% of the South African company.

Barloworld’s shares reversed losses to close 4.7% higher in Johannesburg on Tuesday, even as the benchmark stock index dropped 0.2%.

The South African company is the official Caterpillar dealer in several African countries including Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Angola and South Africa. 

A deal could potentially also see Barloworld be taken private, the people said.