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Presco, the Nigerian palm oil producer controlled and led by chief executive Rasheed Sarumi, is committing $400 million to two Nigerian states this year and has bought land in a third, after previously spending $171.6 million acquiring plantations in Ghana and Edo State. The expansion drive comes as Africa's most populous country grapples with a crude palm oil deficit close to one million tonnes.
The Ondo State government announced in July that Presco would invest an initial $200 million to build plantations, a processing mill and a refinery within the state. Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa said: 'I had already made up my mind that Presco must have a place in the state and will find land that will not be troublesome,' pledging to identify parcels that would not generate disputes with local communities.
Abia State received a matching commitment of $200 million in March. Presco proposed acquiring and developing roughly 14,000 hectares for plantations and agro-industrial facilities. Governor Alex Otti drew a parallel to the era of Michael Okpara's farm settlements, which once made the Eastern Region a global palm oil powerhouse. Soil sampling and community consultations in Abia were already under way at the time of the announcement.
In December, the company completed the purchase of 10,000 hectares spread across the Nsadop and Boki plantations in Cross River State.
The expansion is a direct response to a structural supply shortfall. Nigeria's crude palm oil deficit runs close to one million tonnes, forcing the country to spend roughly $600 million a year on edible oil imports. Presco is among a small group of fully integrated palm oil producers in West Africa, handling cultivation, milling and refining under one roof rather than relying on third-party crude oil.
Sarumi built his controlling position through acquisitions rather than greenfield development. Presco acquired 52 percent of Ghana Oil Palm Development Company (GOPDC) for $124.92 million, marking its first move outside Nigeria. The deal added two estates covering 21,000 hectares that produce more than 35,000 tonnes of palm oil annually. The company then purchased Saro Oil Palm for approximately $46.7 million, adding a land bank above 14,000 hectares, of which 5,000 hectares were already under cultivation.
Together, the two transactions lifted Presco's plantation area by 37 percent, from 43,547 hectares to 59,760 hectares.
The Saro Oil Palm deal carries material complications. Sarumi owned the target through his conglomerate Saroafrica International, while also chairing the Presco board that approved the acquisition, placing him on both sides of a transaction worth around $46 million to him personally. Saro Oil Palm was incorporated in 2019 and is not projected to turn a profit until 2027. The plantation at the centre of the deal has also faced land grab allegations from surrounding communities, and ongoing litigation forced Presco's board to resubmit every resolution passed at its 2024 annual meeting, including the approval for the Ghanaian acquisition.
Shareholders funded the expansion through a rights issue of approximately 250 billion naira, equivalent to roughly $163 million, directed at existing holders. Proceeds were earmarked for refinancing debt, settling the outstanding GOPDC consideration, paying for Saro Oil Palm and building a financial buffer.
Sarumi's control of Presco runs through a Belgian holding company. Saroafrica acquired 86.7 percent of SIAT in March 2024, ending 33 years of Belgian family ownership following a court restructuring. SIAT in turn holds 520,200,000 Presco shares. Sarumi's look-through stake in Presco passed $1.03 billion in July, although his personal debt position is not publicly disclosed.
The wider group now operates in Nigeria, Ghana, the United States, China and Belgium, where SIAT is headquartered.
Sarumi has stated that Presco will 'secure the free, prior and informed consent of host communities, establish clear operational boundaries and implement community action plans wherever it expands.'
Companies House filings show that Sarumi is the sole director and the sole person with significant control of Saroafrica Limited in Britain, which was placed into solvent members' voluntary liquidation in December 2024 after its principal asset was sold into Presco.
Source: Billionaires.Africa