Alhamrani plans stake sale in Fuchs Petrolub joint venture

The Alhamrani Group, a family-owned Saudi conglomerate, is considering the sale of its two-thirds stake in a lubricant business joint venture with Germany’s Fuchs Petrolub. The potential sale of the stake in Alhamrani-Fuchs Petroleum Saudi Arabia Ltd. is expected to generate US$400-$500 million. Investment bank Rothschild is advising on the sale. Alhamrani-Fuchs, formed in a joint venture in 1995, runs a lubricant blending plant in Yanbu, the largest of its kind in the Middle East and Africa. The plant has a capacity of more than 95,000 metric tons, supplying 30% of Saudi Arabia’s domestic lubricant requirements and exporting to 26 countries in the region. The remaining one-third stake is held by Fuchs Petrolub which has a right of first refusal. Fuchs Petrolub is the world’s largest independent manufacturer of lubricants and related specialty products. Alhamrani is near to completing a second round of the bidding process, it was reported.