AD Ports expands Brazil food logistics foothold

Abu Dhabi’s AD Ports Group has agreed to acquire Corredor Logística e Infraestrutura, a São Paulo-based agribulk terminal operator, in an AED3.1 billion deal that gives the company its first operating platform in Latin America and a stronger position in global food supply chains.

The transaction, valued at about $835 million, is the largest acquisition undertaken by AD Ports Group and is expected to close in the second half of 2026, subject to regulatory and antitrust approvals. The purchase will give the Abu Dhabi-listed group control of a business that operates key sugar and grain export terminals at the ports of Santos and Itaqui, two important gateways for Brazil’s agricultural trade.

CLI is being acquired from Macquarie Asset Management and IG4 Capital, which developed the platform into one of Brazil’s leading independent agribulk terminal operators. Existing senior management will remain in place after completion, with Gabriel Motta continuing as chief executive, a move intended to preserve operational continuity while AD Ports builds its Latin American strategy.

The deal marks a major step in AD Ports Group’s international expansion, extending its network beyond its established positions in the Gulf, Europe, Africa and Asia. It also deepens the company’s exposure to agrifood logistics, a priority area as countries seek more resilient food import channels and as commodity flows shift in response to demand growth, weather disruption and geopolitical pressures.

CLI owns 100 per cent of CLI Norte, which operates a terminal at the Port of Itaqui in Maranhão, and 80 per cent of CLI Sul, which operates at the Port of Santos in São Paulo state. CLI Sul is a major sugar export terminal and also handles corn and soyabeans, while CLI Norte serves as a strategic grains gateway within Brazil’s “Arc of the North”, a logistics corridor that has gained importance as production expands across central and northern regions.

The two terminals handled a combined 17 million tonnes of agribulk cargo in 2025. CLI generated AED654 million in revenue and AED360 million in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation during the same year, underlining the scale of the platform AD Ports is adding to its portfolio.

Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, managing director and group chief executive of AD Ports Group, said the acquisition extends the group’s international reach into Latin America for the first time and strengthens agrifoods as one of its core verticals. The company plans to use CLI as a base for new trade routes linking Brazil with Khalifa Port and the Abu Dhabi Food Hub in KEZAD, as well as wider markets across the Indian Subcontinent, East Africa and Southeast Asia.

Brazil’s role in the transaction is central. The country is the world’s largest sugar exporter and among the top suppliers of soyabeans, corn and coffee. Sugar alone accounts for a substantial share of global export flows, while soyabeans and corn remain critical to feed, food and biofuel supply chains. AD Ports’ entry into this market gives it direct access to cargoes tied to long-term demand from Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

The acquisition comes as the UAE seeks deeper economic ties with South America. Negotiations with Mercosur, the trade bloc that includes Brazil, are aimed at establishing a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, while bilateral investment links between the UAE and Brazil have already expanded across logistics, energy, infrastructure and food security. UAE investment in Brazil is estimated at about $5 billion.

For AD Ports Group, the transaction follows a series of large cross-border deals. The company acquired Spain’s Noatum in 2023 for AED2.65 billion, expanding its logistics and freight forwarding network, and bought a 51 per cent stake in Dubai-based Global Feeder Shipping in early 2024 for AED1.9 billion, strengthening its maritime capacity. The CLI purchase is larger than both and adds long-term concession-based port assets in a major commodity-exporting economy.

The acquisition also fits into AD Ports’ wider push to connect port infrastructure, shipping, logistics, economic zones and digital trade services. By linking CLI’s Brazilian terminals with Khalifa Port and Abu Dhabi’s food logistics infrastructure, the group aims to capture cargo flows from origin to destination rather than limiting itself to terminal operations.