Noatum, a worldwide logistics operations platform with a focus on the transport of autos, is established in Spain and was purchased by AD Ports Group for AED2.5 billion ($680 million).

The company said that the agreement greatly increased its global reach and placed it among the top logistics and freight-forwarding businesses in the world. By combining its current logistics business with Noatum to forge a significant presence in the region and improve services across the company’s global footprint, AD Ports Group intends to create a market-leading international logistics brand. The company acknowledged Noatum’s high growth potential and capacity to scale. Additionally, Noatum will consolidate the company’s current logistics offerings going forward by heading up AD Ports Group’s logistics cluster. The agreement represents the third significant foreign acquisition this year for AD Ports Group, following its acquisitions of an 80% ownership in Dubai-based Global Feeder Shipping (GFS) earlier this month and a 70% investment in Transmar and TCI in September.

Logistics

The company said that the agreement greatly increased its global reach and placed it among the top logistics and freight-forwarding businesses in the world

The acquisition makes AD Ports Group one of the most significant international operators in completed vehicle logistics, which they want to expand in the home and core markets, according to Falah Al Ahbabi, Chairman of AD Ports Group. By bringing a major worldwide logistics platform into the AD Ports Group family through this ambitious acquisition, we are able to offer a wider choice of marine, logistics, and port solutions as we continue to follow a steadfast expansion plan. Noatum possesses cutting-edge capabilities in vertical takeoff logistics, which the port operator based in the Middle East hopes to introduce to the area. The managing director and group CEO of AD Ports Group, Capt. Mohamed Al Shamisi, predicted that this historic transaction will rank among the most important in the sector this year. He continued by saying that integrating Noatum into the network of companies will provide it scale and new levels of competence, supporting both its worldwide ambitions and its contribution to the UAE’s economic diversification. The company will use the Noatum acquisition as a springboard to establish a solid local and global logistics brand.