AD Ports Group has acquired Corredor Logística e Infraestrutura (CLI), Brazil’s leading independent agri-bulk port terminal operator, entering the South American market with a strategically major expansion transaction.
São Paulo-based CLI operates two of Brazil’s most important agri-bulk export terminals under long-term concessions: CLI Sul located in the Port of Santos, and CLI Norte at the Port of Itaqui, which is part of the Brazilian 'Arc of the North', a geographical region encompassing the Amazon basin that is a pivotal logistics hub and an emerging corridor for agriculture exports.
The two terminals play a key role in connecting the producing regions of Brazil, the world’s leading sugar exporter and one of the largest grain exporters, to the world.
AD Ports Group agreed to acquire CLI from joint owners Macquarie Asset Management, and IG4 Capital.
CLI owns 100 per cent of CLI Norte, which operates a terminal at the Port of Itaqui, and 80 per cent of CLI Sul, which operates a terminal at the Port of Santos.
The transaction, which is expected to be completed in the second half of the year subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory and antitrust approval, was conducted at an enterprise value of AED 3.1 billion ($835 million).
It has also been agreed that CLI’s existing senior management team will remain in place to continue running the company.
The CLI acquisition represents a transformative step for AD Ports Group, positioning it as one of South America’s leading independent agri-bulk terminal operators, with strategic access to a vast new number of opportunities for the Group’s associated businesses of maritime and shipping, logistics, economic cities and digital services.
Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, Managing Director & Group CEO of AD Ports Group, said: "The purchase of CLI is a game changer for AD Ports Group. The transaction extends our Group’s international reach for the first time into Latin America, and deepens our growing agrifoods activities, one of our core verticals."
Brazil supports AD Ports Group’s geographic expansion as well as the Group’s plan to develop a major new East-West trade spoke linking South America’s largest economy to the Indian Subcontinent, East Africa and Southeast Asia.
The UAE is in advanced negotiations with Mercosur, the South American trading bloc that includes Brazil, to establish a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.
The purchase of CLI gives AD Ports Group an entry point into Latin America, and a platform for further regional expansion.
The agrifood sector is a priority vertical in the Group’s global expansion strategy, with several key investments made in that space recently.
In 2025, CLI handled a combined 17 million tonnes of agri-bulk cargo and delivered a revenue of AED 654 million ($178 million), generating an EBITDA of AED 360 million ($98 million).
The purchase of CLI is AD Ports Group’s largest acquisition to date following the AED 2.65 billion ($720 million) purchase of Spain’s Noatum in 2023, and its AED 1.9 billion ($510 million) purchase of a 51 per cent stake in Dubai-based Global Feeder Shipping (GFS) in early 2024.
For the latest transaction, AD Ports Group was advised by BTG Pactual, while IG4 and Macquarie Asset Management were advised by Citi.
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