Declining to sell state shares in Alexandria Container and Cargo Handling Company (ALCN), the government has confirmed it will maintain its stake after Abu Dhabi Ports Group submitted a mandatory purchase offer to buy the government’s stake in the company last week. “The Holding Company for Maritime and Land Transport does not wish to sell any of its shares,” read a stock exchange disclosure issued Sunday morning, echoing the same position stated by the Transport Ministry a day earlier. The bid is the second in the last six months that sees AD Ports seek to consolidate its majority stake in ALCN and buy an even larger portion of the company, while the state has held its position that it will not be reducing its stake in favor of the sovereign-backed Emirati port logistics firm. A source in the ports and logistics sector told Mada Masr that the offered price is not enough for the government to part with its stakes in the profit-making company, especially as the government aims to maintain a say in the sector at the same time as the United Arab Emirates’ footprint in it expands. They also said that some parties within the government are keen on a higher valuation of profit-making companies, given lingering frustration about the “fire sales” that were rushed through to shore up liquidity amid the 2022 economic crisis. The offer, which AD Ports has submitted to Egypt’s Financial Regulatory Authority, sees Black Caspian Logistics Holding Limited, which is wholly owned by AD Ports, bid to consolidate the entirety of AD Ports shares in ALCN under Black Caspian. AD Ports currently holds a 19.3 percent share of ALCN through Black Caspian, and a separate, 32 percent share in ALCN via another of its subsidiaries, Alpha Oryx Limited. According to the Financial Regulatory Authority’s disclosure on the bid, the offer would see AD Ports’ full, 51.3 percent share consolidated under Black Caspian. Since Black Caspian would gain a controlling stake in the company via the deal, it is required under Egypt’s market regulations to submit a mandatory offer to buy out the rest of the company’s stakeholders: the state, in this case. Its offer therefore included a bid to acquire 35.3 percent of the Egyptian government’s stake in the company, which would increase its stake in ALCN to 90 percent of total shares. The Egyptian government currently owns 42.9 percent of the company’s shares — 35.3 percent through the Holding Company for Maritime and Land Transport and 7.6 percent through the Alexandria Port Authority. Abu Dhabi offered LE27.47 per share, or about US$608 million for the government’s stake, an eight percent increase over the initial offer it made in December. But the government will not be selling this time, either. Talking through the state’s position, the source in the ports and logistics sector said that the new price “does not reflect the company’s true value.” The valuation of ALCN in its first share sale several years ago has angered several parties within the state, said the source. The Saudi Egyptian Investment Company and AD Ports both bought shares in the logistics firm in 2022 when the government enacted a series of rapid part-privatization deals to bolster foreign currency liquidity under intense fiscal pressure at the time. And the Saudi Egyptian Investment Company exited at the end of last year for a profit, selling its 19.3 percent stake to AD Ports for around US$278.6 million compared to the $157 million price for which it purchased the shares from the government 2022. The source said that the deal between the Saudi Egyptian Investment Company and Abu Dhabi had raised questions about the fair valuation of state assets being sold. The government is now reviewing how it values companies, the source said, especially given that it is not under the same degree of fiscal pressure as it was in 2022. Aside from sale profits, the Saudi Egyptian company also benefited between 2022 and 2025 from its share of company profits, which increased by 194 percent over the three-year period. Alexandria Container and Cargo Handling Company generated $168 million in revenue and $122 million in profit in 2025 alone. The source said that there are also concerns within the government about such profits remaining in Egypt’s economy, since foreign shareholders could withdraw money via annual profit repatriation, placing additional pressure on Egypt’s liquidity. The source also pointed to the UAE’s expanding control over the ports and logistics sector, with its subsidiaries present Red Sea ports in Ain Sokhna and Safaga, as well as at several locations within the Suez Canal Economic Zone. These facilities, according to the source, form part of the network of ports operated by AD Ports, which is backed by the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, ADQ. This wide-reaching influence allows the company to shape the market according to its interests, curtailing activity at some ports in favor of others, for example. The source said that the Egyptian government wants to retain at stake of at least 21 percent in the company, enough for the Central Auditing Authority to preserve its right to oversee the company accounts. The source also stressed the need to pay attention to the growing Emirati portfolio in light of reports that “there are bids to purchase stakes in the container handling companies of Damietta and Port Said.” The government plans to offer stakes in both Damietta and Port Said container handling companies as part of its plans to reduce the state’s footprint in the transport and logistics sector, a strategy outlined in its State Ownership Policy released in 2023. According to two informed sources, both companies handle more business than the Alexandria Container and Cargo Handling Company. The government has mulled a round of privatization deals in recent weeks as it concludes a tranche review with the International Monetary Fund and seeks to shore up liquidity for a heavy debt repayment schedule in the coming year.The post Govt holds tight to shares in port logistics company as UAE bids to increase share first appeared on Mada Masr.
