Taqa to acquire SWS Holding: The Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) will acquire water solutions firm Sustainable Water Solutions Holding Company (SWS Holding) for AED 1.7 bn (USD 463 mn), according to a statement. SWS Holding was founded in 2023 and is the parent company of wastewater treatment and repurposing firm Abu Dhabi Sustainable Water Solutions Company (ADSWS).

The details: Per the transaction agreement — expected to be completed later this year — Taqa will acquire all of SWS Holding’s outstanding shares, with half the value to be paid upon completion and the remainder after the transaction is finalized in 2024. The acquisition is expected to add AED 16 bn to Taqa’s pre-existing AED 75 bn regulated asset value.

What they said: "By bringing the management of recycled water together with Taqa’s water desalination activity and our recycled water network, we can do even more to support the net-zero target by 2050,” Taqa group CEO and Managing Director Jasim Husain Thabet noted in the statement.

Taqa has been making moves in the desalination market: Taqa, French utility company Engie, and the Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC) achieved financial close for the AED 2.3 bn (c. USD 620 mn) low-carbon Mirfa 2 Reverse Osmosis (M2 RO) desalination plant earlier this month. M2 RO will produce 120 mn imperial gallons per day (MIGD) of water once fully operational in 4Q 2025, equating to c. 550k cubic meters per day of potable water. This will make it the third largest RO desalination facility in the country.

And is going big on water treatment: Taqa, Orascom Construction (OC), Metito, and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) announced in May they will establish a USD 2.4 bn mega seawater treatment and water supply project in the UAE.

Taqa has also been on a sustainability-driven shopping spree: In 2022, the company snapped up a 43% stake in UAE renewables giant Masdar, with the aim of fronting the company’s clean energy projects. In January, it partnered with Adnoc Distribution to establish a joint venture called E2GO to build and operate EV infrastructure in Abu Dhabi and the wider UAE. More recently, the company invested GBP 25 mn in Xlinks’ Morocco-UK Power Project in April, and said in May it is looking for more potential investments in the clean energy sector both in the UAE and beyond.

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