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Flour Mills of Nigeria, the country’s largest agro-allied company, has announced that it has increased its stake in ROM Oil Mills Limited, a leading edible oil company, from 90 percent to 95 percent, according to a statement released on the Nigerian Stock Exchange on Monday.

Flour Mills said the decision to raise its ROM Oil Mills’ stake was driven by a strategy of continually investing in the development of quality foods and agro-allied products for its customers.

In 2012, Flour Mills acquired 90 percent of ROM Oil as part of its plan to enter the edible oils market in Nigeria. Two years later, Flour Mills commissioned ROM Oil’s upgraded oil refining and margarine plant in Ibadan – which is reputed to be the largest in Sub-Saharan Africa.

With the latest share purchase, Flour Mills said the Shahimi family – ROM Oil’s founding family – collectively own 5 percent minority stake in ROM Oil.

Paul Gbedebo, Flour Mills’ Managing Director and CEO, said the ROM Oil investment was a key feature in the company’s strategic drive to grow its food and agro-allied value chains in consonance with Nigeria’s Industrial Revolution Plan and the government’s Agricultural Transformation Agenda.

“FMN strongly believes that the operation of ROM Oil will continue to significantly help to maximize local content, achieve foreign exchange savings and will have a big impact on feeding the nation better,” Gbedebo said.

Earlier this month, Flour Mills reported that its 2017 full-year revenue rose by 53 percent to N524.46 billion, although after-tax profit fell by 39 percent to N8.8 billion.

Founded in 1960, Flour Mills is the makers of Golden Penny brand of products with operations in flour milling, pasta production, fertilizer distribution, and polypropylene bag manufacturing. The company owns Apapa Bulk Terminal, the operator of Terminals A and B of the Apapa Ports, Lagos. George Coumantaros, an American of Greek origins, and his family owns 52.18 percent of Flour Mills through a holding company, Excelsior Shipping Company Limited.

Flour Mills’ stock fell 0.99 percent to close at N25 per share at the Lagos bourse on Monday.