Alpha Dhabi’s NMDC holding just got a little bigger: ADQ-backed AD Ports Group sold its entire 9.77% stake — or 82.5 mn shares — in National Marine Dredging Company (NMDC) to its majority owner, IHC subsidiary Alpha Dhabi, in an AED 1.6 bn (USD 436 mn) block trade, according to two separate bourse disclosures (here, pdf and here, pdf). The sale brings Alpha Dhabi’s holding in NMDC to 76.68%. The transaction has already been finalized.

The sale generated a 17% total shareholder return over the three years during which it held the stake, based on dividends and capital gains relative to its 3Q 2025 book value. The port operator acquired the stake before NMDC’s IPO in 2022 from ADQ.

This is AD Ports’ third divestment this year. The sale is part of the firm’s ongoing plan to offload non-core assets and recycle capital into higher-return projects. It sold plots of land in Kezad to Mira Developments for AED 2.5 bn and two logistics warehouses to Aldar Properties for AED 570 mn.

The move also comes as Alpha Dhabi shuffles its portfolio. The group recently exited its stake in Modon alongside IHC Real Estate in an AED 26.3 bn sale to L’imad Holding as part of a sector-exposure review. It also bootes its stake in National Corporation for Tourism and Hotels to 73.73% earlier this year.

NMDC in a nutshell: The ADX-listed engineering and marine EPC group reported a 26% y-o-y rise in net income to AED 2.8 bn in 9M 2025, with revenue up 11% to AED 20.5 bn. Its backlog stood at AED 62.3 bn as of September.

Market reax: AD Ports’ shares were down 1.1% to AED 4.30 apiece at market close yesterday, while NMDC shed 0.4% to AED 21.12 and Alpha Dhabi rose 0.9% to AED 8.78 on the ADX.

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