Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma'aden) has agreed to acquire a 10% stake in Brazilian mining giant Vale for $3.2 billion.
In a bourse statement on Sunday, Ma'aden said it will buy the stake through Manara, its joint venture with Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund - the Public Investment Fund.
Ma'aden and Manara signed an agreement on Thursday to buy the 10% stake in Vale's base metals business, which has an enterprise value of $26 billion.
The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2024. Ma'aden will finance the deal from its own resources.
The stake purchase will allow Ma'aden to expand into copper and nickel production through Vale's assets. Copper and nickel are key minerals for the green energy transition.
Ma'aden said in its statement: "Manara’s investment into Vale will play a key role in helping it expand the production of copper and nickel across its asset portfolio, which are critical to the development of new technologies that will benefit the global energy transition."
The deal fits with Ma'aden's strategy of investing in global mining assets to diversify and grow its business beyond Saudi Arabia. Vale is one of the world's largest miners of iron ore, copper and nickel.
Headquartered in Riyadh, Ma'aden is Saudi Arabia's largest mining and metals company. Its businesses include the production of aluminum, phosphate, ammonia, gold and other products.
