AD Ports Group has moved to take firmer control of one of its key shipping assets, buying an additional 30% stake in Global Feeder Shipping for AED 1.1bn ($300m) and raising its holding in the Dubai-based feeder operator to 81%, according to AD Ports Group.
The Abu Dhabi group exercised a call option agreed when it acquired its initial 51% stake in GFS in February 2024. The latest stake was bought at the same enterprise value set in 2024, AED 3.67bn ($1bn), and will be funded through a mix of debt and asset monetisation transactions.
The deal gives AD Ports Group greater strategic and operational control over GFS and clears the way for deeper integration with its ports, economic cities, logistics and shipping businesses.
GFS has become a central part of AD Ports Group’s container feeder shipping business, which uses small and medium-sized vessels to move cargo between major transit hubs and smaller ports. The company serves the GCC region, the Indian subcontinent, the Red Sea, the Far East, the Mediterranean and Africa, with added depth across the Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf.
GFS transported 2.8m TEU in 2025 and made more than 700 voyages covering 89 ports in 54 countries. Since AD Ports Group bought its initial 51% stake, GFS has generated cumulative EBITDA of more than AED 1.8bn ($500m). Together with SAFEEN Feeders and Transmar, GFS forms the core of AD Ports Group’s container feeder shipping business. The unit’s revenue rose 17% year on year in 2025.
AD Ports Group’s Maritime & Shipping Cluster increased revenue by 33% in 2025 to AED 10.7bn ($2.9bn), while cluster EBITDA rose 25% to AED 2.5bn ($681m). The cluster generated 51% of group revenue and 45% of group EBITDA.
AD Ports Group is an Abu Dhabi-based operator of ports, economic cities and free zones, maritime and shipping, logistics and digital services businesses.
Global Feeder Shipping is a Dubai-based container feeder shipping company.
SAFEEN Feeders and Transmar are container feeder operators within AD Ports Group’s shipping business.
