Gulf-based investors including the chairman of Emaar Properties Mohamed Alabbar have bought the entire holding of Aramex founder and the vice-chairman Fadi Ghandour in the logistics solutions company.

The purchase of 9.9 per cent stake was made through Alabbar Enterprises at a premium to the current market price, according to news agency Bloomberg. Which cited people familiar with the deal.

Goldman Sachs Group has advised Mohamed Alabbar on the transaction and the company is buying more shares in the Dubai-listed courier firm. The stake is worth more than AED523m ($142m) at 25 July closing price.

Aramex shares, have risen 19 per cent in the last 10 days, including a 5.5 per cent rise on 26 July.

Ghandour and Aramex didn’t respond to calls seeking comment. A spokesman for Goldman Sachs in London declined to comment. A spokesman for Alabbar said he couldn’t immediately comment.

Alabbar Enterprises, is an investment firm controlled by Alabbar. It took a 4 per cent stake in fashion retailer Yoox Net-A-Porter (YNAP) in April and aims to help it expand in the Middle Eastern markets.

The company acquired the stake by buying into a €100m ($113m) reserved capital increase at the YNAP

The Aramex stake acquisition will help Alabbar Enterprises build a regional, web-based business, including in fashion retail, by giving it access to a distribution company.

A GCC-based investor group led by Mohamed Alabbar in June also agreed to buy a $2.36bn stake in Kuwait Food Company (Americana), which operates KFC and Pizza Hut restaurants in the Middle East and North Africa.