Dubai: The Dubai-based GCC Energy Fund on Tuesday said that a consortium of investors, led by the fund, has acquired a controlling interest in Oman's Dhofar Power Company (DPC).
Under the terms of the deal, the consortium comprising of the GCC Energy Fund, Darbat Power of Oman and Malakoff Berhad, a Malaysian power company, has acquired a 46 per cent controlling stake in DPC, a uniquely placed integrated power utility, from its previous largest stakeholder, the US-based PSEG Global.
The GCC Energy Fund, the Middle East's first private equity fund focused on the region's energy sector, played the lead role in identifying the opportunity, structuring the deal and bringing together the major participants.
DPC provides power to the south of Oman, including the country's second largest city Salalah, and is one of the few private utilities in the region involved in power generation, transmission as well as distribution.
The company started commercial operations in May 2003 with a generation capacity of 242 mega-watts and high voltage transmission lines totaling 2,000km in length, servicing a customer base of 54,000.
For over three years DPC has been run efficiently with the goal of providing reliable service to its customers and ensuring the highest possible standards of safety in all of its operations.
"We are delighted to announce the successful completion of this transaction and look forward to playing a central role in the growth of Dhofar Power Company, both within Oman as well as regionally," said Adil Toubia, chief executive of the GCC Energy Fund.
Tariq Al Aujaili, a director on the board of DPC said: "We are very pleased to have the GCC Energy Fund invest in DPC and value the contribution that it will make towards the growth of the company."
The GCC Energy Fund was launched in 2005 as a private equity fund focused on making investments in companies and projects across a range of industries within the energy sector.
