AD Ports Group has increased its stake in Global Feeder Shipping (GFS) to 81% through the acquisition of an additional 30% equity interest worth AED 1.1 billion (USD 300 million), strengthening its control over one of its most strategic maritime and logistics assets.
In February 2024, AD Ports Group acquired a 51% stake in Dubai-based GFS, the world’s fourth-largest container feeder shipping line by capacity, with a call option to increase its ownership by December 2026. The Group has now exercised this call option at the same total Enterprise Value of AED 3.67 billion (USD 1 billion) set in 2024. The acquisition will be funded through a mix of debt and asset monetisation transactions.
AD Ports Group’s container feeder shipping business, which involves the transport of goods using small and medium-sized vessels between major transit hubs and smaller ports, has grown rapidly since its initial launch in 2020. GFS is among the Group’s most strategically significant assets.
Through a sustained period of maritime disruption, GFS has maintained and expanded trade connectivity where other operators withdrew, ensuring the uninterrupted flow of cargo for customers across the GCC region, whilst serving the Indian Subcontinent, Red Sea, Far East, Mediterranean, and Africa regions — reinforcing AD Ports Group’s role as a reliable enabler of trade through volatility. In doing so, it has extended the Group’s geographic reach, broadened its customer base, and connected its terminals to a wider set of economies, with increased depth across the Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf.
The increase in ownership to 81% reinforces AD Ports Group’s cash flow generation and provides greater strategic and operational control over this core asset, enabling deeper integration with the Group’s ports, economic cities and logistics operations. This will further strengthen the end-to-end trade and logistics solutions AD Ports Group offers to customers worldwide.
Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, Managing Director & Group CEO of AD Ports Group, said: “Through the acquisition of an additional 30% stake in Global Feeder Shipping, AD Ports Group is reaffirming its commitment to investing in one of the most important and high-performing assets within our integrated business portfolio. GFS has expanded our reach into new markets and brought us closer to our customers, connecting our ports to more economies across the Red Sea and the Gulf at a time when reliable trade connectivity matters most. Our increased ownership in GFS allows us to deepen its integration within the Group’s portfolio and enables further growth across our shipping business. We will now be in a stronger position to accelerate our journey to enable trade for our stakeholders, in line with the vision of our wise leadership.”
Amir Maghami, CEO of Global Feeder Shipping, said: “Today marks an important step for GFS as we become more closely integrated into AD Ports Group, reinforcing the strength of our partnership. While the shipping industry continues to adapt to volatile market conditions, AD Ports Group’s support has enabled us to steadily expand our services and grow our fleet. Staying flexible and keeping customers at the centre of what we do has always been our priority, and I am excited to build on this momentum as we broaden our network and deliver even greater value in the months and years ahead.”
In 2025, GFS transported 2.8 million TEUs (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units) and made more than 700 voyages covering 89 ports in 54 countries. Since the acquisition of its initial 51% stake in February 2024, GFS generated total cumulative EBITDA of over AED 1.8 billion (USD 500 million).
Alongside SAFEEN Feeders and Transmar, GFS forms the core of the Group’s container feeder shipping business, providing essential services for the movement of goods in and out of the UAE. In 2025, overall container feeder shipping revenue rose 17% year-on-year from 2024. The business also expanded the Group’s global footprint, playing an integral role in its trade ecosystem spanning Ports, Economic Cities & Free Zones, Maritime & Shipping, Logistics, and Digital services business clusters.
In 2025, the total revenue of the Maritime & Shipping Cluster grew 33% to AED 10.7 billion while the Cluster EBITDA rose 25% year-on-year to AED 2.5 billion. Overall, the Maritime & Shipping Cluster generated 51% of AD Ports Group’s revenue, and 45% of the Group’s EBITDA.
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