Port giant to return to private ownership

DP World’s parent company Port and Free Zone World has offered to acquire the 19.55% of DP World’s shares traded on Nasdaq Dubai. Upon successful offer acceptance, DP World will be 100% owned by Port and Free Zone World, which in turn is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dubai World.

Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, group chairman and CEO of DP World, said: “Returning to private ownership will free DP World from the demands of the public market for short term returns which are incompatible with this industry, and enable the company to focus on implementing our mid-to-long-term strategy to build the world’s leading logistics provider, backed by our globe-spanning network of ports, economic zones, industrial parks, feeders, and inland transportation.

“Our focus will continue to be on integrating our acquisitions with our global network of interconnected ports, logistics businesses and economic zones.”

In recent years, DP World has made a series of acquisitions as part of its strategy to become a leading global end-to-end logistics provider. These acquisitions include Unifeeder, P&O Ferries, Continental Warehousing, and Topaz Energy & Marine.

Mr bin Sulayem noted that DP World needs to respond to change resulting from “consolidation of the customer base and the vertical integration of several competitors” in the ports and logistics industry.