AD Ports closes in on $2bn deal to buy Indonesia’s Meratus

Wednesday, 12 June 2024

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Fast expanding AD Ports from Abu Dhabi is tipped to be finalising a deal to buy Indonesia’s top container shipping line, Meratus, in a deal thought to be worth $2bn. The family-held Meratus has been up for sale since July.

According to Alphaliner, Surabaya-based Meratus runs a container fleet of more than 60 vessels between 135 to 2,700 teu.

AD Ports has been rapidly expanding its footprint, becoming one of the leading ports and shipping players. The group has this year signed deals in Angola, Egypt, Congo and across Central Asia, as well as growing its tanker fleet and establishing a non-vessel owning common carrier with Dubai-listed logistics company Aramex.

Over the past year AD Ports has already acquired a range of containerlines including Global Feeder Shipping and Transmar.

“This is yet another example of the ongoing consolidation in the intra-Asian container shipping space and also an example of the ascendance of both AD Ports and DP World into the container shipping space,” commented Lars Jensen, founder of consultancy Vespucci Maritime, via LinkedIn, going on to predict more consolidation in Asia in the years ahead.

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