Dubai’s DP World has closed its $748.2m (EUR660m) acquisition of Unifeeder Group, three months after it signed the deal for the Danish transport and logistics giant.
Announced in a statement on Nasdaq Dubai on 6 December, DP World bought 100% of Unifeeder, the largest container feeder and growing shortsea network operator in Europe, from Nordic Capital Fund VIII and “certain minority shareholders”.
DP World announced the signing of the acquisition on 7 August 2018, stating the deal would be funded “from existing balance sheet resources”.
It said Unifeeder, which has connectivity to approximately 100 ports, will “further enhance DP World’s presence in the global supply chain and broaden our product offering to our customers”.
“The current operations of Unifeeder are complementary to DP World’s existing business and providers future growth opportunities,” DP World added at the time.
The acquisition comes amid a flurry of activity at the state-owned DP World.
Two months ago it launched a multi-phased expansion of Berbera port, Somaliland, to boost trade for landlocked countries in the Horn of Africa. Shafa Al Nahda Contracting was awarded the expansion’s main construction contract, having worked on the Port of Dakar in Senegal and expansion of the Port of Maputo, Mozambique.
DP World is also the biggest investor in Virgin Hyperloop, and two of its executives hold boardroom positions: DP World group chairman and chief executive officer, Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, and chief financial officer, Yuvraj Narayan.
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