Saudi dairy firm Almarai will pay about $112 million to complete next month the acquisition of a majority stake in an Egyptian dairy and juice manufacturer, a local newspaper reported on Wednesday.

Almarai, the largest dairy company in the Gulf Arab region by market value, said last week it has initially agreed to buy International Company for Agricultural Industrialisation Projects. It did not give more details.

If completed, the acquisition would be Almarai’s first in Egypt, the Arab world’s most-populous country and home to twice as many people as the Gulf Arab region, where Almarai’s business is currently focused.

Citing unidentified sources from the Egyptian firm, Al-Madinah newspaper said Almarai is expected to complete the transaction next month.

Almarai has been diversifying its revenue sources through acquisitions, saying in July it would boost its investment budget to 6 billion riyals ($1.60 billion) for the five years to 2013.

A previous budget of 4.7 billion riyals had been set for the five years to the end of 2011. Almarai’s second-quarter profit jumped 42.3 percent on higher sales after it expanded its business regionally.

In 2006, Almarai agreed to buy Western Bakeries and International Bakery Services Co, and the firm is also part of a group led by Kuwait’s Mobile Telecommunications Co, setting up Saudi Arabia’s third mobile phone firm, Zain Saudi Arabia. - Reuters