Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA) announced the successful completion of its transaction with Abu Dhabi Power Corporation (ADPower) creating one of the largest utility companies in the region of Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA).
The transaction saw the transfer of ADPower’s majority power and water generation, transmission and distribution assets to TAQA in exchange for over 106 billion new shares.
With the completion of the transaction, TAQA is now the UAE’s third-largest publicly traded company by market capitalization and among the top-ten integrated utility companies in EMEA by regulated assets.
TAQA currently has 23 GW of power generation capacity globally and 916 MIGD of water desalination capacity, of which 1.4 GW are from renewable sources. It also has a further 4.4 GW and 200 MIGD under development, including 2 GW from renewable sources.
TAQA’s assets now include 12 power and water generation plants in operation, and it is the only company responsible for all of Abu Dhabi’s power and water transmission and distribution.
It has its own international assets in Canada, Ghana, India, Iraq, Morocco, the Netherlands, Oman, Saudi Arabia, UK, and the US.
ADPower will own 98.60 percent of the entire issued share capital of TAQA, which intends to increase to the free float through a follow on public offering.
TAQA Chairman Mohammed al-Suwaidi indicated that the successful consolidation of Abu Dhabi’s power and water assets has created a true national energy champion that is well-positioned to spearhead the transformation of the utilities industry.
“TAQA’s strong balance sheet, predictable income, access to global capital markets and deep industry expertise enables it to play an active role in the UAE’s diversification strategy, putting a strong emphasis on clean sources," Suwaidi was quoted as saying by Emirates News Agency (WAM).
He added that the company will invest and deploy new technology to ensure continued reliable and efficient supply of power and water and additional sustainable capacity to meet the demands of the UAE economy.
For his part, TAQA’s CEO Jasim Husain Thabet said that this transaction is the beginning of TAQA’s new journey, which will fully integrate “our diverse asset portfolio and combine the talent and expertise of both organizations into a stronger company,” which will contribute to the socio-economic development of UAE.
“We benefit from a strong capital structure, a robust business model and exclusivity rights to participate in all generation and water desalination projects tendered in Abu Dhabi over the next decade with a minimum 40% equity share,” he concluded.
