Aramex, a leading global provider of comprehensive logistics and transportation solutions, has announces that it has won approval from the board of directors to sell its entire stake in Aramex Global Solutions (AGS), its joint venture with Australia Post, for $20 million.

The decision for divesting the stake came at a mutually agreed transaction that will allow both organizations to independently execute their strategic growth in the booming global e-commerce industry, said a statement from Aramex.

In 2016, Aramex and Australia Post partnered to create AGS to serve as an e-commerce delivery platform, with a particular focus on connecting the Australian e-commerce market with sellers in Asia.

Aramex currently owns the majority of the joint venture, with a 60 per cent stake while the other 40 per cent is held by Australia Post.

Upon completion, the divestment will not have any impact on Aramex revenues since the JV was only accounted for on equity basis. However, it will incur a one-off write-off of $13 million for Aramex, which will be reflected in the company’s Q4 2018 financial results.

Commenting on the deal, CEO Bashar Obeid said: "We have mutually agreed with our trusted partners, Australia Post, to sell to them our full 60 per cent stake in AGS. The divestment will not affect our e-commerce growth strategy."

"The global e-commerce market continues to grow at a strong rate, transforming our industry and presenting huge opportunities for us to expand our business in our target markets. We will continue to tap into this growth by enhancing our last mile delivery solutions and further improving service levels through investments in technology and digitization," he added.

Aramex said one of the key contributors to its strong Q3 2018 results was the boom in e-commerce.

During the third quarter, the company had reported a revenue of Dh1.24 billion ($337 million) for the three-month period ended September 30, 2018, registering an eight per cent year-on-year growth besides netting a profit of Dh113 million, up 38 per cent over last year.-TradeArabia News Service