Is United Mining Leaving Tadawul? Knauf Now Owns 99.3%

Summary

• Germany's Knauf raised its stake in United Mining Industries to 99.3% after settling its tender offer.
• Knauf began with 63.2% in May, then bid 57 riyals per share in September.
• A mandatory offer and delisting would end the Jeddah firm's two-year run on Nomu.

The latest

Knauf International now controls 99.3% of Saudi Arabia's United Mining Industries and plans to buy out the remaining shareholders and delist the stock from the parallel Nomu market, according to a Monday filing. The German holding company settled its tender offer on Sunday and paid shareholders who accepted. Both the buyout and the delisting still require regulatory approval.

Details

• The purchase: Knauf acquired roughly 5.05 million shares during the offer period, equal to 36.1% of United Mining's capital, according to the disclosure. Added to its existing holding, that lifted ownership to 99.3%, leaving less than 1% of the company in other hands.
• The price tag: The newly acquired shares are worth about 287.9 million riyals, or 76.8 million dollars, based on the share count and the offer price of 57 riyals per share. The offer window ran from September until 4 November.
• The first step: Knauf had already taken 63.2% of United Mining last May, buying stakes from three Saudi shareholders for about 504.5 million riyals, equivalent to 134.5 million dollars. The September tender offer was framed as part of a plan to expand its presence in Saudi Arabia.
• The next move: Knauf intends to ask the Capital Market Authority for approval to launch a mandatory offer for the remaining shares, according to the filing. If the regulator agrees, remaining shareholders would be obliged to sell at a cash price of no less than 57 riyals per share.
• The delisting: The company also said it intends to begin procedures to cancel the listing of United Mining shares. The filing did not set a timetable for either the mandatory offer or the removal from Nomu.
• The target: United Mining Industries was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Jeddah, producing gypsum, its derivatives and building materials. It listed on Nomu in 2023 and operates in markets including the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Jordan, Egypt, India and Kenya.
• The buyer: Knauf International is a German holding company established in 1984 and based in Iphofen, owning, managing and financing stakes in building materials firms inside and outside Germany. It is a unit of the Knauf Group, founded in 1932.
• The group's reach: Knauf Group specialises in construction systems, gypsum, insulation and finishing materials, with operations in more than 90 countries and over 320 plants worldwide. Its Gulf footprint includes Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman.

Background

Nomu is Saudi Arabia's parallel market, designed for smaller companies with lighter listing requirements than the main Tadawul exchange. United Mining joined it in 2023, three years before the German takeover that is now set to remove it.

Between the lines

The sequence reads as a staged full takeover rather than a portfolio investment: a 63.2% control stake in May, a priced tender in September, and a mandatory offer plus delisting now. Holding 99.3% leaves Knauf with little reason to maintain a public listing, and the fixed 57-riyal floor sets the terms for whoever is left.

What's next

The Capital Market Authority's decision on the mandatory offer is the next trackable step, followed by the formal delisting application for United Mining shares on Nomu.

Source: ⁦ontime+⁩