Abu Dhabi clean energy company Masdar has finalised a deal to acquire nearly half of Spain's Repsol, further scaling the former's green energy portfolio on the global level.
Masdar, formally Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, will be acquiring a 49.99 per cent stake in Madrid-based Repsol for about €849 million ($978 million), the companies said on Thursday.
The transaction, which was signed in Abu Dhabi, involves 705 megawatts of operational capacity that includes six solar parks with 303MW and 13 wind farms with 402MW, plus the potential to add 565MW in the future, they said.
The deal, subject to regulatory approvals, is expected to close by the end of this year. Once completed, Masdar will have an operational capacity of 4.1 gigawatts across the Iberian Peninsula, with about 1GW more under development.
Masdar chief executive Mohamed Al Ramahi said the move is both a boost to Masdar's portfolio and Spain's economy, the sixth-largest in Europe that has also increased activity and investments in renewable energy.
“Spain is one of Europe’s fastest-growing major economies, and renewable energy is playing a critical role in powering that growth … we look forward to investing in the growth of these assets,” he said.
Masdar, owned by Taqa, Adnoc and Mubadala, has developed projects in more than 40 countries with a combined capacity of more than 51GW. The company's global ambition is to reach 100GW of renewable capacity by 2030.
The company's strategy is in line with the UAE's strategy of championing the use of clean energy and decarbonisation goals.
Last month, Masdar and Germany's RWE received approval to proceed into the planning phase of its proposed major wind farm project in the UK. In April, Masdar, along with ScottishPower, installed the UK’s largest wind turbine, and agreed with France's TotalEnergies to merge their onshore renewable energy businesses in nine Asian countries.
Before those, Masdar signed agreements to build a 150MW solar plant in Angola and explore a clean energy project in Uzbekistan, and completed its first battery storage project in the UK. The company has also made inroads in Asia, with major projects in Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.
Masdar has also pledged to boost its presence in the US amid the data centre boom, and reported that it had committed about $15 billion in global clean energy projects amid its aggressive expansion.
Repsol, meanwhile, has operations in more than 20 countries, serving about 24 million people. It has an operational capacity of about 6GW.
The company is “a leading global partner in the renewable energy sector”, said Joao Costeira, executive managing director at Repsol.
