Why did the Arab port giant come to Brazil for its largest acquisition in history?

IG4 Capital and Macquarie Asset Management have reached an agreement to sell control of CLI (Corredor Logística e Infraestrutura), an independent operator of grain and sugar terminals in the ports of Santos (SP) and Itaqui (MA) , to AD Ports Group, from Abu Dhabi.

With this transaction, AD Ports assumes control of CLI and indirectly gains control of CLI Sul, in which the Brazilian company holds an 80% stake. The deal is still subject to customary closing conditions, including approvals from CADE (Brazil's antitrust authority) and ANTAQ (Brazil's National Agency for Waterway Transportation).

The transaction, valued at US$835 million, is the largest ever made by AD Ports Group, surpassing the purchase of the Spanish company Noatum in 2023 for US$720 million. The acquisition also marks AD Ports' entry into Brazil and Latin America.

“The acquisition of CLI is a watershed moment for AD Ports Group. For the first time, the transaction expands the group's international presence to Latin America and deepens our growing performance in agrifood , one of our main verticals,” stated Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, CEO and Global Director of AD Ports Group, in a press release.

Listed on the Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange, AD Ports has a market capitalization of US$6.2 billion and ended 2025 with approximately US$5.7 billion in revenue and EBITDA of approximately US$1.4 billion.

The group, which is controlled by the Abu Dhabi government's sovereign wealth fund, operates 38 terminals and manages a vast complex of economic zones in Abu Dhabi aimed at attracting industries, logistics operators, and international trading companies.

"A watershed moment"

AD Ports expects CLI terminals to maintain high utilization levels in the long term, supported by the structural constraints of the ports of Santos and Itaqui.

In the case of Santos, the group cites limited expansion capacity and chronic congestion as factors that should reinforce the resilience of demand and prices.

CLI moved 17 million tons of bulk agricultural cargo in 2025, recording US$178 million in revenue for the year and EBITDA of US$98 million.

The rationale for the purchase is based on Brazil's participation in the international sugar trade, where it accounts for 40% to 50% of export volume, but also considers the strategic position of Brazilian ports for AD Ports' global operations.

The company plans to create new trade routes linking Brazil to Khalifa Port and the Abu Dhabi Food Hub in the United Arab Emirates, and to use the Brazilian operation as a new East-West trade hub, connecting to the Indian subcontinent, East Africa, and Southeast Asia.

The purchase of CLI adds to a series of recent moves by AD Ports in agricultural bulk cargo.

In December, the group finalized an agreement to develop a logistics infrastructure for agricultural products at the port of Karachi, Pakistan. In January, it announced an investment of approximately US$30 million in a grain terminal at the port of Kuryk, Kazakhstan.

In the transaction, AD Ports was advised by BTG Pactual, while IG4 and Macquarie had Citi as their financial advisor.