Etihad Airways (EY, Abu Dhabi International) has acquired Linfox Armaguard Group's stake in Armaguard Valuables Management (AVM), an Abu Dhabi-based joint venture established between the two partners in 2012, for an undisclosed sum.

A provider of secure logistics services to the global valuables market, AVM will now be renamed Etihad Secure Logistics Services, while Linfox will concentrate on its existing business in Australia and New Zealand and developing its services across South East Asia, Etihad said in a press release.

Vincent Hampton has been appointed managing director of Etihad Secure Logistics, described in the release as a management and security specialist with a background in the United States Air Force and United States Department of State in Abu Dhabi, and in security consulting in the UAE's private sector.

“We are now in a position, with Etihad Secure Logistics operating as a wholly Etihad-owned business, to better support the home market in its next phase of growth and development,” said Abdulla Mohamed Shadid, managing director of cargo and logistics at Etihad Aviation Group.

Shadid added that the move tied in with broader increased investment in the valuables transportation and logistics segments, as well as in the banking and financial sectors in the UAE, complimenting Etihad's cargo and logistics services.