Abu Dhabi sovereign investor L’IMAD moves to acquire up to 100% of AD Ports Group

Dh6.25-a-share cash offer carries a 23% premium to AD Ports Group’s last close

Last updated: August 17, 2026 | 09:59

Nivetha Dayanand, Assistant Business Editor

1 MIN READ

AD Ports Group has expanded its reach beyond the UAE significantly, while working on an industry cluster approach at its vast hub in Abu Dhabi.

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Dubai: L’IMAD, a sovereign investor of the Government of Abu Dhabi, has announced its intention to make a voluntary conditional cash offer to acquire up to 100% of the issued and paid-up share capital of AD Ports Group.

The proposed transaction will be made through L’IMAD’s wholly owned subsidiary Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company, ADQ, which already owns 75.42% of AD Ports Group. The offer will cover AD Ports Group shares that are not already held by ADQ, potentially taking L’IMAD’s ownership through ADQ to 100% if the offer is completed for all remaining shares.

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Dh6.25 per share offer

L’IMAD has set the proposed cash offer price at Dh6.25 per share, representing a 23% premium to AD Ports Group’s last closing share price of Dh5.10.

The price is also 25% above the company’s one-month volume weighted average price of Dh5.02 and 31% above its three-month VWAP of Dh4.76.

Compared with the Dh3.20 per-share subscription price before AD Ports Group listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange in February 2022, the proposed offer represents a premium of 95%.

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Offer subject to approvals

L’IMAD announced its intention to make the offer on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange on Monday, August 17.

The transaction remains subject to regulatory approvals, while the full terms and conditions and the offer timetable will be set out in an offer document to be published by AD Ports Group in due course.

Nivetha DayanandAssistant Business Editor

Nivetha Dayanand is Assistant Business Editor at Gulf News, where she spends her days unpacking money, markets, aviation, and the big shifts shaping life in the Gulf. Before returning to Gulf News, she launched Finance Middle East, complete with a podcast and video series. Her reporting has taken her from breaking spot news to long-form features and high-profile interviews. Nivetha has interviewed Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed Al Saud, Indian ministers Hardeep Singh Puri and N. Chandrababu Naidu, IMF’s Jihad Azour, and a long list of CEOs, regulators, and founders who are reshaping the region’s economy. An Erasmus Mundus journalism alum, Nivetha has shared classrooms and newsrooms with journalists from more than 40 countries, which probably explains her weakness for data, context, and a good follow-up question. When she is away from her keyboard (AFK), you are most likely to find her at the gym with an Eminem playlist, bingeing One Piece, or exploring games on her PS5.