ADQ becomes a majority shareholder in Aramex: Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ locked in an additional 35.31% stake in Aramex bringing the fund’s total indirect ownership in the DFM-listed logistics giant to 58%, according to statements here and here (pdf). The stake purchase — which is still pending completion — was made through ADQ’s wholly-owned subsidiary Q Logistics Holding.

What’s next? While the offer period wrapped up earlier this week, ADQ is still accepting shares from holdouts at AED 3.00 apiece until Monday, 24 March, with the final tally of tendered offers due to be announced on Friday, 28 March.

REFRESHER- Last month, Q Logistics Holdings launched a voluntary tender offer to buy up all of Aramex’s shares — excluding the 22.69% stake already held by ADQ shipping unit AD Ports — at AED 3 apiece, valuing the freight services firm at AED 4.4 bn. The offer price of the transaction represents an attractive valuation, reflecting a strong multiple of 9x enterprise value to EBITDA for the twelve months ending September 2024, and a multiple of 29x price-to-earnings ratio for the same period.

Restructuring ahead: Aramex will be folded into ADQ’s Transport & Logistics cluster, joining assets like AD Ports, Abu Dhabi Airports, Etihad Airways, and Etihad Rail, according to the fund’s Deputy Group CEO Mansour AlMulla. The sovereign fund said it wants to transform Aramex into a globally competitive company in the freight services industry, but this is expected to be “complex, capital intensive and to take time,” according to the official bid document (pdf).

ADVISORS- Rothschild is acting as financial adviser for Q Logistics, while EFG Hermes UAE, International Securities and Emirates NBD capital serve as co-lead managers on the transaction. Clifford Chance was hired to provide counsel on the potential acquisition. Aramex tapped HSBC as its financial advisor for the potential takeover.

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