Dubai: The Dubai shipping company Gulf Navigation – buoyed by a soaring stock price – is continuing its deal-making strategy, this time by raising its stake in a subsidiary Gulf Navigation Polimar Maritime.
This it did by acquiring the 40 per cent held by Turkish Polimar Holding Company in Gulf Navigation Polimar Maritime, which is into maritime agency services. Gulf Navigation now has 100 per cent ownership in the subsidiary, which came into being in 2017.
The buyout – value of which has not been revealed - was done to raise Gulf Navigation’s future revenues through ‘expanding the scope of agency business’ and focus on a ‘portfolio of integrated logistics solutions’.
Gulf Navigation Polimar Maritime will thus play to its strengths by being a ‘one-stop shop serving all terminals and commercial ports in the UAE and all types of vessels and cargos’.
This is the third major deal the UAE shipping company had done in the recent past, all in line with the wider operational mandate it has taken on. It is in line with the renewed financial and operational gains Gulf Navigation has chalked up since 2022, through capital restructure, tapping new investors, and working on rewiring its debt exposure.
In October, Gulf Navigation announced plans to ‘fully acquire’ Brooge Petroleum and Gas Investment Company (BPGIC) from Brooge Energy Ltd., a Nasdaq-listed entity. Again, this would help Gulf Navigation raise value-added services, with BPGIC operating a base in Fujairah.
Discussions on the deal are ongoing, and ‘work is underway with financial and legal advisors to complete the evaluation of the deal and obtain the necessary regulatory approvals’.
Gulf Navigation has submitted a proposal regarding the acquisition to the UAE’s Securities and Commodities Authority.
BPGIC is into the storage of crude oil products, fuel – and refined fuel products, as well as crude oil extraction. It has a capacity of one million cubic meters of crude oil and oil derivatives, enabling the company to store 6.3 million barrels of oil.
In between, Gulf Navigation, whose stock is trading at Dh7.24, struck a joint venture with Scorpio Services Holding Ltd. under the banner of ‘Black Marlin Ship Management & Operation’. This is to deliver vessel management solutions for regional clients. The venture will be launched with eight vessels, four from each partner.
