ICTSI Expands Southern Africa Market Grip with TLG Acquisition

September 4 ------ The Philippines-based ports operator ICTSI is signaling intentions to tighten its grip on the Southern Africa ports and logistics space. It entering into an agreement to acquire the South Africa-based The Logistics Group (TLG), an integrated logistics firm offering services across port, rail, warehousing and digital transport logistics.

ICTSI, which is already a major player in Africa with terminal operation interests in five countries including South Africa, revealed in regulatory filings that it has signed an agreement to acquire 100 percent ownership of TLG Acquisition Holdings.

The company did not reveal the amount it is paying to acquire TLG, which is currently owned by African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM) and Mokobela Shataki Proprietary Limited. AIIM controls a 74 percent stake in TLG with Mokobela Shataki owning the remaining 26 percent. The two entities have been the shareholders of TLG for four years, having acquired the company that was started in 2019 in 2022.

The acquisition of TLG is strategic for ICTSI, which has deliberately been pushing to increase its presence in the African market that is fast emerging as critical in the global logistics and supply chains configurations. As an integrated port and cargo handling services provider, TLG has operations across Mozambique, Namibia, and South Africa where it handles a diversified range of bulk commodities and agricultural products across its portfolio of port facilities.

The Philippines-based ports operator reports that TLG will be a strategic addition to its southern Africa interests, a market where it has been seeking to dominate. Among its interests are the Matadi Gateway Terminal in D.R. Congo, and the Madagascar International Container Terminal.

In Africa, ICTSI is also the operator of the Onne Multipurpose Terminal in Nigeria and Kribi Multipurpose Terminal in Cameroon. The company’s entry into South Africa was delayed by court battles. In 2023, ICTSI was awarded a 25-year concession by Transnet to develop and operate the Durban Container Terminal (DCT) Pier 2, an award that was contested in courts by its rival APM Terminals. ICTSI got a major reprieve last year when the Durban High Court upheld Transnet’s decision.

Considering that DCT Pier 2 is the largest container terminal in Durban handling 72 percent of the port’s throughput and 46 percent of South Africa’s container traffic, the planned integration of TLG now expands ICTSI’s business beyond containers to other critical segments like bulk commodities, agricultural cargo and break bulk. TLG operates in countries where agriculture and mining are critical economic pillars.

As one of the world’s largest terminal operators, ICTSI has interests across 19 countries where it operates 34 terminals. The latest addition into its portfolio are two dry bulk port terminals at Brazil’s Port of Aratu that it acquired in July at a cost of $150 million.

On August 3, ICTSI released its first of half this year performance that showed its container throughput across its terminals increased by 16 percent to 8.1 million TEU compared to 6.9 million TEU in the same period in 2025. DCT Pier 2 was one of two terminals that significantly contributed to the growth, the other being the Batu Ampar Container Terminal in Indonesia.

During the period, ICTSI revenues increased by 27 percent to $1.9 billion from $1.51 billion while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization grew by 24 percent to $1.2 billion compared to $990.5 million generated in the same period last year.

Source: marinelink.com