Abu Dhabi Power, a unit of the emirate's new investment vehicle L'imad Holding, has acquired 2PointZero's full stake in power and water utility Taqa, as they continue to optimise their portfolios and operations.
AD Power will be acquiring nearly 9.1 billion additional shares in Taqa – formally Abu Dhabi National Energy Company – which came into effect on Wednesday, 2PointZero and Taqa said in separate filings to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, where their shares trade.
The transaction – subject to regulatory approvals – will result in L'imad, through AD Power, now owning 98.12 per cent of Taqa's issued share capital, with AD Power's holding up by 8.09 per cent, Taqa said.
The value of the deal, based on Taqa's share price on Wednesday - closing flat at Dh2.37 - would be more than Dh21.5 billion ($5.9 billion). 2PointZero's shares jumped nearly 3.8 per cent to Dh2.21.
AD Power is an indirect and wholly-owned unit of L'imad, the new investment vehicle launched last year that is Abu Dhabi's fourth investment pillar touted to be an economic diversifier.
2PointZero's move “forms part of the company’s ongoing strategic initiatives and portfolio optimisation efforts”, it said.
Abu Dhabi has been focused on diversifying its economy away from oil and has taken measures to attract international investors, boost its competitiveness and make conducting business easier.
Part of this strategy is streamlining and consolidating assets in various key sectors to optimise operations and future road maps to support the future economy.
Earlier this year, Abu Dhabi announced that it will be consolidating the assets of sovereign wealth fund ADQ into L'imad, to create a “sovereign investment powerhouse with a diversified asset base”.
L’imad joined the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Mubadala and ADQ, one of the largest holding companies in the Middle East, as some of the investment powerhouses stationed in the UAE capital.
2PointZero Group, meanwhile, was created through the merger of Multiply Group, Ghitha, and 2PointZero, and focuses on high-growth sectors including food security, advanced energy and renewables.
Taqa is a diversified utilities and energy group with investments in power and water generation, water treatment and reuse, transmission and distribution, and upstream and midstream oil and gas operations. It owns or manages assets in 26 countries.
