Aramex, the biggest courier company in the Middle East, completed the sale of its data, technology and analytics firm InfoFort to US-based information management specialist Iron Mountain for $91 million.
The company has transferred shares of InfoFort to Iron Mountain, it said in a statement on Thursday to the Dubai Financial Market, where its shares are traded.
The company, however, is still awaiting approval in Algeria from the relevant regulatory authority and is “continuing to co-operate with Iron Mountain” on the transaction, according to Aramex.
The financial impact of the transaction will be "reflected on the company’s consolidated financial statements at the end of third quarter of 2021”, Aramex said.
InfoFort was founded by Rabea Ataya, founder of online recruitment platform Bayt.com, in 1997 and was the Middle East's first data management company. It was sold to Aramex in 2005 for Dh51m ($13.9m).
Aramex is 22.55 per cent owned by Abu Dhabi’s ADQ, one of the region’s largest holding companies. ADQ built its stake in the regional logistics giant through a series of on-market transactions and an off-market special deal.
Last week, Aramex said it adopted a new operational structure, in which it split its core businesses into Aramex Express and Aramex Logistics to capture a greater market share of the global logistics industry.
As part of the reorganisation, it appointed Johannes Distler as chief strategy officer, a newly created role to ensure the development and execution of Aramex’s corporate strategy, as well as the group’s international expansion and mergers and acquisitions agenda.
The company is also in talks to potentially acquire Turkish transportation company MNG Kargo to expand its business.
Aramex was founded in Jordan by Fadi Ghandour in 1982 and was the first company from the Arab world to list on the Nasdaq Stock Market. It delisted in 2002 and went public again in 2005 and is currently listed on the Dubai Financial Market. Mr Ghandour sold his remaining shares in Aramex in 2016.
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre 6-cyl turbo
Power: 374hp at 5,500-6,500rpm
Torque: 500Nm from 1,900-5,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.5L/100km
Price: from Dh285,000
On sale: from January 2022
It's up to you to go green
Nils El Accad, chief executive and owner of Organic Foods and Café, says going green is about “lifestyle and attitude” rather than a “money change”; people need to plan ahead to fill water bottles in advance and take their own bags to the supermarket, he says.
“People always want someone else to do the work; it doesn’t work like that,” he adds. “The first step: you have to consciously make that decision and change.”
When he gets a takeaway, says Mr El Accad, he takes his own glass jars instead of accepting disposable aluminium containers, paper napkins and plastic tubs, cutlery and bags from restaurants.
He also plants his own crops and herbs at home and at the Sheikh Zayed store, from basil and rosemary to beans, squashes and papayas. “If you’re going to water anything, better it be tomatoes and cucumbers, something edible, than grass,” he says.
“All this throwaway plastic - cups, bottles, forks - has to go first,” says Mr El Accad, who has banned all disposable straws, whether plastic or even paper, from the café chain.
One of the latest changes he has implemented at his stores is to offer refills of liquid laundry detergent, to save plastic. The two brands Organic Foods stocks, Organic Larder and Sonnett, are both “triple-certified - you could eat the product”.
The Organic Larder detergent will soon be delivered in 200-litre metal oil drums before being decanted into 20-litre containers in-store.
Customers can refill their bottles at least 30 times before they start to degrade, he says. Organic Larder costs Dh35.75 for one litre and Dh62 for 2.75 litres and refills will cost 15 to 20 per cent less, Mr El Accad says.
But while there are savings to be had, going green tends to come with upfront costs and extra work and planning. Are we ready to refill bottles rather than throw them away? “You have to change,” says Mr El Accad. “I can only make it available.”
Company%20profile
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Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
The%20specs
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Mina Cup winners
Under 12 – Minerva Academy
Under 14 – Unam Pumas
Under 16 – Fursan Hispania
Under 18 – Madenat
