Gulf Construction Online - ADPower, Taqa move to create utilities giant

UAE Focus

ADPower, Taqa move to create utilities giant

01 March 2020

Abu Dhabi Power Corporation (ADPower), a public joint stock company that owns most of the water and electricity assets across the emirate of Abu Dhabi, has submitted an offer to Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) to transfer most of its assets to the latter in a deal that will create a new regional utilities champion.

The offer sets out the principal terms and conditions on which ADPower would transfer the majority of its water and electricity generation, transmission and distribution assets to Taqa, said the company.

The proposed transaction would create a new regional utilities giant that will accelerate the transformation of the water and electricity industry in the UAE. The new entity would be one of the largest utilities companies in the GCC and a top 10 integrated utilities player in the EMEA region by regulated assets.

It is ADPower’s intention to maintain Taqa’s existing listing, making the combined group one of the largest listed companies on the Abu Dhabi Exchange (ADX), which marks the first time an integrated utilities company is made available on the UAE market.

ADPower is proposing to transfer the majority of its water and electricity generation, transmission, and distribution companies, which together reported net income of Dh4.8 billion ($1.31 billion) and total assets of approximately Dh120 billion as of the end of 2018. The transferred assets have a generation capacity of 4.9 GW for electricity and about 58 million gallons of water per day, operate around 80,000 km of electricity transmission and distribution network and approaching 20,000 km of water pipelines, serving over one million customers.