Tabreed acquires Al Maryah Island district cooling unit operator in $84.8m deal

The company purchased the additional stake from Mubadala Infrastructure Partners

The deal to fully buy the Al Maryah unit is Tabreed's fourth major acquisition in less than two years. Reuters

The National Central Cooling Company, better known as Tabreed, took full ownership of the operator of the district cooling unit that serves Al Maryah Island in Abu Dhabi after it bought an additional 50 per cent stake for Dh311.5 million ($84.8m).

Tabreed acquired the additional stake in Al Wajeez Development Company from its joint venture partner, Mubadala Infrastructure Partners, it said in a statement on Sunday to the Dubai Financial Market, where its shares are traded.

Al Wajeez operates a 80,000 refrigeration-tonne district cooling programme that serves entertainment, hospitality, retail, commercial and residential developments on Al Maryah Island.

“Since the start of our operations at Al Maryah island’s district cooling scheme in 2014, with the collaboration of our partners MIP, we have developed the scheme into an industry-leading model of efficiency and reliability, and we view our recent move to acquire the entire operation as the next logical step for our growth plans in Abu Dhabi,” said Tabreed chief executive Khalid Al Marzooqi.

Tabreed will continue to offer cooling services to Al Maryah Island under a 30-year exclusive concession granted to Al Wajeez in 2014 by Al Sowwah Square Properties, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mubadala Investment Company.

The deal to fully buy the Al Maryah unit operator is the fourth major acquisition in less than two years for Tabreed, which has been actively hunting for deals amid a push to expand across the Gulf region.

Earlier this year, it bought a 80 per cent stake in Emaar’s Downtown Dubai district cooling network and also acquired Aldar’s Saadiyat Island plant and the Masdar City district cooling plant in Abu Dhabi.

Tabreed currently owns and operates 84 plants across the GCC, including 75 in the UAE, three in Saudi Arabia, five in Oman and one in Bahrain.

It provides district cooling to developments such as Dubai Metro, the Burj Khalifa, Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque and Louvre Abu Dhabi in the UAE, as well Bahrain’s financial centre and the Jabal Omar Development in Saudi Arabia.

Tabreed's second-quarter profit rose 4 per cent this year on the back of higher revenue. The total profit attributable to equity holders of the parent for the three-month period ending June 30 rose to Dh148m while revenue jumped 23 per cent annually to Dh511.4m during the period.