The combination of ADNOC’s fertilizer business into OCI’s Middle East and North Africa (MENA) nitrogen fertilizer platform has been completed by OCI N.V. and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), leading to the creation of a new joint venture. The new joint venture, which has been named Fertiglobe and is headquartered in Abu Dhabi, has over US$1.7 billion of annual revenues based on 2018 figures. OCI that will fully consolidate the combined business began trading on 1 October. ADNOC and OCI aim to make Fertiglobe the largest export-focused nitrogen fertilizer platform globally, and the largest producer in the MENA region, with a production capacity 1.5 million tons of merchant ammonia and of 5 million tons of urea.
A new law was passed to change the legal form of ADNOC Fertilizers to allow its legal transfer to Fertiglobe, whereby the joint venture, once completed, will focus on the integration of the two businesses. “The efficiency we have shown in completing this milestone transaction so quickly is a strong indication of the way that Fertiglobe will operate in the future and a hallmark of what we hope to achieve by combining ADNOC’s fertilizer platform and OCI’s MENA-based fertilizer assets,” said H.E. Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State, CEO of the ADNOC Group and Chairman of Fertiglobe. “We have laid careful groundwork to extract and promote synergies throughout our strategically placed production assets and distribution network. … The close of this transaction is yet another example of the further progress that ADNOC is making in delivering on its 2030 strategy and specifically its ambitions to expand its downstream portfolio.”
“I am very pleased that we have completed this landmark transaction in such a short time frame, which brings together two like-minded partners,” Nassef Sawiris, CEO of OCI N.V. and CEO of Fertiglobe, said, adding that “it underscores our commitment to create value in the fertilizer industry, at the same time helping develop a more efficient market place for our customers. This platform has a solid financial profile and has significant potential for future growth and value creation, with the support and under the guidance of its two key shareholders”. This transaction will place the companies EBIC, EFC, Sorfert, and Fertil (formerly ADNOC Fertilizers) under the ownership of Fertiglobe.
