Aramex sells data technology company InfoFort for $91m

Financial impact of the transaction will be reflected in the company's third-quarter financial statements

Aramex sold its data, technology and analytics firm InfoFort to US-based information management specialist Iron Mountain for $91 million. Silvia Razgova / The National

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.