L'IMAD Moves to Buy Remaining AD Ports Stake for $2.1 Billion
ADQ, an L'IMAD subsidiary, has offered AED 6.25 per share for the 24.58% of AD Ports it does not already own.
Abu Dhabi's sovereign investor L'IMAD Holding Company is moving to take full control of AD Ports Group. On Monday, ADQ, a wholly held subsidiary of L'IMAD, disclosed a voluntary conditional cash offer for all AD Ports shares it does not already own. The offer covers up to 100% of the issued share capital not held by ADQ. ADQ currently owns 75.42%; the remaining 24.58% stake is valued at $2.1 billion (AED 7.8 billion).
AD Ports lists 5.09 billion shares on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange. The tender is priced at AED 6.25 ($1.70) per share. That is 23% above the most recent close, 25% above the one-month volume-weighted average price, and 31% above the three-month VWAP. The cash bid arrives as the target's results improve.
AD Ports is Abu Dhabi's exclusive owner, operator and developer of non-oil and defense-related coastal infrastructure. Its holdings include ports, docks, harbors, waterways and bridges. In the second quarter, net profit jumped 88% year on year, while revenue rose 47% to $1.9 billion. Forbes Middle East ranks AD Ports 65th on its 2026 list of the region's 100 Most Valuable Companies.
The tender is part of a wider consolidation inside L'IMAD. The sovereign investor expanded its infrastructure portfolio by absorbing ADQ, a restructuring designed to combine domestic and international assets under one owner. In June, L'IMAD increased its stake in Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA) by 8.09% through an indirect subsidiary, Abu Dhabi Power. Buying out AD Ports' minority would extend that pattern.
For minority shareholders, the offer provides an exit at a premium to where the stock has traded. For L'IMAD, it means direct control of a ports group with accelerating financials. The bid sits 31% above the three-month average but only 23% above the last close, so recent trading had already moved up before the announcement. A successful tender would give the sovereign investor full ownership and remove a listed minority from a strategic infrastructure operator.
Rothschild & Co Middle East Limited is financial adviser on the tender. Allen Overy Shearman Sterling LLP is legal adviser. Emirates NBD Bank and First Abu Dhabi Bank are joint-lead receiving banks, with Emirates NBD Capital and FAB acting as joint-lead managers. EFG Hermes UAE is co-lead manager.
