ADQ clinches majority interest in Dubai-listed 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 two separate statements (here and here, pdf). The transaction, which is 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 shareholders who did not tender their shares 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 and 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.

OTHER M&A NEWS-

An Abu Dhabi Investment Authority-led consortium divested an additional 6.3% stake in skincare giant Galderma Group during a wave of block sales in Europe, marking the latest in a series of selldowns since the Swiss firm went public on the SIX Swiss Exchange last year, Bloomberg reports, citing terms it has seen. While the current size of ADIA’s stake in Galderma remains unclear, the sale brought the selling shareholders’ combined holding in the company to less than 50%, the business news service wrote.

What we know: The group — which includes Swedish private equity company EQT and Singapore’s Auba Investment — offloaded some 15 mn shares on the open market at CHF 89 apiece, marking 7.8% discount to Monday’s close, according to Bloomberg. The sale saw them rake in a total of CHF 1.3 bn (USD 1.5 bn) in proceeds.

REMEMBER- The consortium first sold off a 10% stake in Galderma in August 2024 for an undisclosed sum, after floating a portion of their holding in Switzerland's biggest IPO since 2017. The consortium also sold off a USD 1.2 bn stake in September. ADIA, EQT and Singapore’s GIC initially acquired Galderma, formerly Nestlé Skin Health, for CHF 10.2 bn from Nestlé back in 2019.

ADVISORS- Bank of America, BNP Paribas, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and UBS quarterbacked the offering, which was several times oversubscribed.

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