Today's Edition
A.SREENIVASA REDDY (ABU DHABI)
ADQ, an active sovereign investor focused on critical infrastructure and global supply chains, has acquired a 63.26% stake in Aramex.
In a stock market disclosure, Mansour AlMulla, Deputy Group Chief Executive Officer of ADQ, stated that Q Logistics Holding, a subsidiary of ADQ, had received acceptances from shareholders representing 40.57% of shares. Combined with the 22.69% ownership held by AD Ports Group, another ADQ subsidiary, this brings ADQ’s total stake to 63.26%. The Abu Dhabi-based sovereign investor has expressed its intention to secure full ownership of the company.
The statement confirmed that ADQ’s ownership has now surpassed the minimum acceptance threshold required under the Mergers and Acquisitions Rules issued by the Securities and Commodities Authority. With this latest milestone, ADQ has cleared the legal path for the mandatory acquisition of the remaining shares. However, the stock market disclosure noted that Q Logistics Holding would continue to accept shares from shareholders even after the offer period expired on March 24.
The shares are being acquired at Dh3 per share, a premium compared to the closing price of Dh2.82 at the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) on Friday.
In a recent press release, AlMulla stated that Aramex would become an integral part of ADQ’s Transport & Logistics cluster, which already includes major entities such as AD Ports Group, Abu Dhabi Airports, Etihad Airways, and Etihad Rail. “As the majority shareholder in Aramex, we plan to leverage our extensive track record of growing local companies into globally competitive market leaders for the benefit of Aramex and all its stakeholders,” he added.
ADQ anticipates that the proposed transformation of Aramex will be complex and capital-intensive, requiring time to materialise, which may limit short- to medium-term returns for shareholders, according to its previous stock market disclosure.
