Abu Dhabi’s ports, logistics, and trade group AD Ports Group has sealed one of its biggest takeovers with a huge deal in Brazil.
The AD Ports Group agreed to acquire São Paulo-based agri-bulk port terminal operator Corredor Logística e Infraestrutura (CLI) for $835m.
CLI operates two of Brazil’s most important agri-bulk export terminals under long-term concessions: CLI Sul at the port of Santos, the country’s sugar export terminal and key export terminal for corn and soybeans, and CLI Norte at the Port of Itaqui.
The transaction, which is expected to be completed in the second half of the year subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory and antitrust approval, was conducted at an enterprise value of AED 3.1bn ($835m).
AD Ports Group agreed to acquire CLI from joint owners Macquarie Asset Management, and IG4 Capital. CLI owns 100% of CLI Norte, which operates a terminal at the port of Itaqui, and 80% of CLI Sul, which operates a terminal at the port of Santos.
It has also been agreed that CLI’s existing senior management team will remain in place to continue running the company.
Brazil is the world’s largest sugar exporters, accounting for 40-50% of total global sugar exports, and a leader in soybeans, coffee and corn, AD Ports Group said citing industry figures.
“The transaction extends our group’s international reach for the first time into Latin America, and deepens our growing agrifoods activities, one of our core verticals,” said captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, managing director and group chief executive of AD Ports Group.
The purchase of CLI is AD Ports Group’s largest acquisition to date following the group’s AED 2.65bn ($720m) purchase of Spain’s Noatum in 2023, and its AED 1.9bn ($510m) purchase of a 51% stake in Dubai-based Global Feeder Shipping (GFS) in early 2024.
