Abu Dhabi's TAQA eyes acquisition opportunities in 'key' US market
DUBAI - Abu Dhabi's TAQA is exploring buying companies in the United States and elsewhere, its chief executive told Reuters, as the state-owned utility continues its international expansion and strives to reach ambitious growth targets.
"The U.S. is a key market for us," and "if the right opportunity presents itself for TAQA, we would be pursuing that," Jasim Husain Thabet said in an interview, without disclosing specific targets.
ADPower, a unit of Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ, owns just over 90% of TAQA, which in recent years has been investing in companies and projects across several markets including the United States. TAQA's Masdar unit last year acquired a 50% stake in U.S. renewable energy firm Terra-Gen.
The United Arab Emirates said this month it planned to raise its energy investments in the U.S. to $440 billion in the next decade, boosting U.S. President Donald Trump's efforts to secure major business deals on a Gulf tour.
TAQA has said it aims to spend around $20 billion between 2023 and 2030 on organic and inorganic growth, aiming for 150 gigawatts of capacity by the end of that period, up from around 56 GW now.
Thabet said that TAQA would generally prefer to acquire a fully integrated company with generation, networks and "a pipeline of growth".
Asked about possible investment opportunities in Syria, where the lifting of U.S. sanctions has cleared the way for foreign investments, Thabet said it was too early, but that the company would monitor the situation.
TAQA, which raised $1.75 billion from a bond sale last October, does not immediately need to raise more debt but might tap markets again if a large M&A deal materialises, he said.
The firm has not held talks this year with Naturgy's shareholders about buying a stake in the Spanish utility after such discussions were abandoned nearly a year ago, Thabet said, contradicting a news report from March.
He declined to comment on why talks to buy investor Criteria's 26.7% stake in Naturgy had broken down, saying only that there were "certain things that there was no agreement on".
"And it's fine when there's no agreement. Everyone walks their way. And it's important that we focus on the future and other M&A opportunities."
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