DHL’s business unit, eCommerce, has acquired a minority stake in Saudi Arabian logistics company, AJEX. The move marks a significant milestone in DHL’s expansion into the rapidly growing Saudi Arabian parcel market, and leverages AJEX expansion across the Middle East. Simultaneously, DHL has prolonged its collaboration with Canada’s freight carrier Cargojet.
AJEX started its operations in 2021 and has rapidly emerged as a leading regional and domestic parcel provider with a network of over 60 facilities, 1,200 vehicles and a team of 2,000 employees. Specializing in GCC e-commerce distribution and industrial solutions, AJEX offers a full suite of customer-centric services from express distribution, e-commerce solutions, road, air and ocean freight, warehousing, cold chain, to healthcare solutions. The regional expertise ofAJEX combined with the international reach and operational know-how of DHL eCommerce, will benefit customers around the Gulfregion. They are being offered enhanced and tailored delivery services, stated DHL eCommerce in a release.
AJEX’s new ownership structure is kept in the drawer
“As part of our Strategy 2030 ‘Accelerate Sustainable Growth’, DHL Group is investing EUR 500 million in high-potential markets like Saudi Arabia,” said Pablo Ciano, CEO of DHL eCommerce. “The customer-centric approach and strong regional presence of AJEX, combined with DHL’s global expertise, will enable us to deliver reliable, affordable, and sustainable parcel solutions across the region.”
Questions concerning DHL’s financial commitment to AJEX and which ownership share they were able to secure through the investment, remained unanswered by DHL Communications. All Mohammed Albayati, Group CEO of AJEX said is that “the acquisition of a minority stake by DHL eCommerce in AJEX marks a major milestone in our growth. A testament to the market credibility we have earned. Thanks to the speed and precision of our services, we are now ready to enter the next phase of growth. For our customers across Saudi Arabia and the Middle East region, this means access to faster, smarter, and more innovative delivery services, powering the region’s fast-growing e-commerce markets.”
DHL will get a board seat
Their now signed strategic partnership enables DHL eCommerce and AJEX to capitalize on the anticipated double-digit growth in Saudi Arabia’s e-commerce sector, as well as across the broader Middle East region.
In addition to its home turf, Saudi Arabia, Riyadh-based AJEX runs stations in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain.
As result of the investment, DHL eCommerce will have representation on the AJEX management board. It also holds the option to increase its stake to a majority position in the future. DHL eCommerce, along with the business units DHL Express, DHL Supply Chain, and DHL Global Forwarding, are now present in the country. Going forward, AJEX will be branded as ‘AJEX, a partner of DHL eCommerce’.
Cargojet and DHL prolong collaboration
Around 10,200 km west of Riyadh, in Mississauga near Toronto, Canadian freight carrier, Cargojet, and DHL Network have agreed to continue their cooperation until 31MAR33, with the option of further extensions.
“Cargojet is an important strategic partner that offers high quality, capacity, and flexibility to DHL Express, operating key routes for us to Canada, Mexico, and Latin America. We are pleased to extend our long-standing relationship with Cargojet and look forward to future expansion that will mutually benefit both organizations,” Travis Cobb, Executive Vice President of Global Operations and Aviation, DHL Express, commented on the deal. The relationship commenced exactly 20 years ago. Since then, both companies successively expanded their collaboration to include ACMI, CMI, charter flights, and dry lease aircraft, thus supporting DHL’s global logistics network. Cargojet currently operates a fleet of Boeing 767 and Boeing 757 freighters to meet DHL’s air transport needs.
