UAE-based GreenDome Investments has acquired land freight and courier solutions provider Elite Co from Prama Holdings for an undisclosed sum as it seeks to tap into the region's fast growing logistics market.
The deal is in line with GreenDome Investments' aim to build an end-to-end global logistics services business in the region, the company said in a statement on Sunday.
Elite Co is a specialised overland freight and courier services business, and has operations and assets across Oman, Bahrain, Qatar and the UAE, with its regional hub in Dubai. It employs more than 1,000 staff, and has 600 lorries and 100,000 square feet of warehouse capacity.
“We see tremendous opportunity in the Middle East, as well as the broader global logistics industry, and we intend to leverage our decades of experience and expertise to build, through M&A, a globally integrated freight, courier and contract logistics businesses,” said Mohammed Sharaf, chief executive of GreenDome Investments and former group chief executive of DP World.
“In addition, the growing e-commerce sector, both regionally and globally, represents an important growth segment we intend to capitalise on.”
The UAE's logistics industry has benefited tremendously as e-commerce penetration improves in the region in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. The country's e-commerce market grew by 53 per cent to a record $3.9 billion in 2020 and it is expected to grow further, the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry said in June.
“Elite Co is well positioned to capitalise on the projected growth in the e-commerce sector as well as the broader express courier market, both in the Middle East and around the world. We will capture value from the industry’s growth by strengthening our network and offering, while also exploring global growth opportunities,” said Hisham Albahar, incoming chief executive of Elite Co.
GreenDome Investments is backed by UAE-based Rais Hassan Saadi Group, the Sharaf Group and Logipoint, a subsidiary of Saudi Industrial Services Company SISCO, a listed company on the Saudi Arabia stock exchange.
The acquisition of Elite is one of GreenDome's first deals in the region, the company added.
