Taqa to delist from the ADX after L’imad acquisition

Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) is delisting from the ADX, following a vote from its board of directors and the completion of L’imad’s acquisition of full control of the firm earlier this month, according to an ADX disclosure (pdf). The move is still pending regulatory approvals.

REMEMBER- We knew this would be happening as soon as the squeeze-out removed Taqa’s freefloat shares from the ADX. The move is also a precedent for L’imad’s second squeeze-out in as many months, this time of AD Ports’ minority shareholders, which the sovereign wealth fund explicitly said comes as AD Ports’ next phase of growth is set to be “complex, capital-intensive and long-term,” potentially requiring fresh equity or more borrowing. While L’imad didn’t give that same reasoning for Taqa’s acquisition, it’s safe to assume that beyond wanting strategic control over critical energy assets, L’imad is also giving itself greater flexibility over long-term capital allocation and investment strategy.

Some context: Taqa plans to deploy AED 75 bn in capex by 2030 — including AED 40 bn for transmission and distribution and AED 35 bn for power generation and water desalination — and has already deployed AED 27 bn of that figure by the end of 2024. It is eyeing upping its electricity generation capacity to 150 GW by 2030 as well. It also secured two power projects with a combined 3.6 GW capacity and an AED 1.5 bn water infrastructure contract in Saudi Arabia’s Makkah region in 2024, and expanded into the UK’s offshore electricity transmission sector through its acquisition of Transmission Investment, marking its entry into the sector. Its group CEO, Jasim Thabet, also previously described the US as a “key market” for future acquisitions.