Abu Dhabi National Energy Company, TAQA, on Wednesday announced the successful completion of its transaction with Abu Dhabi Power Corporation, ADPower, creating one of the largest utility companies in the Europe, the Middle East and Africa, EMEA, region.

The transaction – which was first proposed by ADPower to the TAQA Board of Directors in February 2020 and received TAQA shareholder approval in April 2020 – saw ADPower transfer the majority of its power and water generation, transmission and distribution assets to TAQA in exchange for 106,367,950,000 new shares.

With the completion of the transaction, TAQA, which is listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, is now the UAE’s third-largest publicly traded company by market capitalisation 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. TAQA also has a further 4.4 GW and 200 MIGD under development, including 2 GW from renewable sources. Across the UAE, its assets now include 12 power and water generation plants in operation.

TAQA now also owns all of Abu Dhabi’s power and water transmission and distribution companies in addition to its existing international assets in Canada, Ghana, India, Iraq, Morocco, the Netherlands, Oman, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

As a result of the transaction, ADPower will own 98.60 percent of the entire issued share capital of TAQA. It is TAQA’s intention to seek an increase to the free float through a follow on public offering.

"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," Mohamed Hassan Alsuwaidi, Chairman of TAQA, said.

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.

In August 2019, TAQA made some changes to its Board of Directors with Jasim Husain Thabet becoming the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of TAQA, and Saeed Hamad Al Dhaheri as its Deputy CEO. Other key leadership appointments include Stephen John Ridlington, the company’s Chief Financial Officer.

Thabet commented, "Today marks the beginning of TAQA’s new journey, which will see us fully integrate our diverse asset portfolio and combine the talent and expertise of both organisations into a stronger company. We have created an entity that will be a key contributor to the socio-economic development of the UAE, and which has a strong international footprint that enables us pursue growth opportunities in the GCC and beyond, all while rewarding our shareholders with sustainable dividend policy.

"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.

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