RIYADH — Dairy and food producer Almarai Co plans to issue the second tranche of a riyal-denominated Islamic bond program in the coming months to private investors, the company said in a bourse Monday. The Gulf's largest dairy firm raised SR1 billion ($266.6 million) through the first tranche in March in a deal which was 4.7 times oversubscribed. “This second tranche of sukuk will be a private offering to sophisticated investors resident in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” the company statement said. Proceeds from the sukuk are seen helping finance Almarai's $4.2 billion investment program which is aimed to expand its business between 2013 to 2017. Almarai has been keen to expand its footprint outside its core presence in the Gulf region. In December it acquired Fondomonte S.A., which owns and operates firms in Argentina, to secure feed for its dairy herd and poultry business. The company's third quarter earnings rose 4.7 percent but fell short of analysts forecasts as higher commodity prices and expansion costs ate into earnings, it said in October. Shares in Almarai are up more than 20 percent this year. – Reuters
