Leading UAE-based international district cooling developer Tabreed (National Central Cooling Company) looks set to be cooling some of Abu Dhabi’s most prestigious developments after it began the acquisition of two district cooling companies owned by Aldar Properties.
Saadiyat Cooling LLC (SCL), which is currently majority owned by Aldar Properties PJSC, and Saadiyat District Cooling Sole Proprietorship LLC (SDCL), which is wholly owned by Aldar Investment Properties PJSC, will be sold to the firm at a cost of $261 million.
Both are located on Saadiyat Island home to Louvre Abu Dhabi and Manarat Al Saadiyat, and will take Tabreed’s Abu Dhabi total cooling capacity to 655k RT from a total of 46 plants.
SCL has a currently connected capacity of 24k Refrigerated Tonnes (RT) and a total concession of 77k RT.
The SDCL plant is dedicated to the New York University (NYUAD) for a connected capacity of 11k RT. The ultimate capacity of the concession is 88k RT,
Tabreed said a third plant could be added to the Abu Dhabi island in the future with “additional prestigious projects expected to be developed in the coming years in this prime cultural and touristic area”.
Tabreed added that the agreement represents another major milestone in Tabreed’s strategy, reinforcing its position as a global district cooling industry leader.
“I am delighted to be signing this agreement today, as we continue to accelerate our growth trajectory and consolidate our position in the UAE,” said Bader Saeed Al Lamki, CEO, Tabreed. “ As an industry leader, our strategic partnerships have allowed Tabreed to grow into an international powerhouse in district cooling, with over 22 years of experience and investments across six countries. Our partnership with Aldar is one such example, and this transaction is testament to the strong relationship we enjoy with them.
“Moving forward, we are well placed – both financially and operationally – to continue to take advantage of further growth opportunities in the UAE market and beyond.”
Talal Al Dhiyebi, CEO, Aldar Properties, added: “We are pleased to be deepening our long-standing relationship with Tabreed with this win-win transaction. This divestment crystalizes significant value for Aldar shareholders and is a clear example of our strategy for value creation in action. Aldar is pursuing attractive acquisitions, implementing an active approach to asset management and continuously recycling capital to invest in future growth. In line with this strategy, Aldar will build on its strong financial and operating performance in 2020 by further deploying capital in the long-term growth of our two core real estate businesses – Asset Management and Development Management.”