Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) said yesterday it has sold its stake in Marubeni Taqa Caribbean Ltd for an undisclosed sum to Japan's largest trading company Marubeni Corporation with effect from Sunday.
"The decision to withdraw was taken as part of Taqa's strategy to focus [on] its power and water business development within its existing footprint, with a stronger focus in the greater Mena region," Taqa said in a mandatory filing to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX), where its shares are listed.
Taqa's shares rose 0.68 per cent on the news, closing at Dh1.50 a share yesterday on a bearish market.
Marubeni Taqa Caribbean Ltd was a joint venture between Taqa and the Marubeni Corporation originally created when Taqa purchased 50 per cent of Marubeni's Caribbean assets in March 2009.
Acquisition
The Abu Dhabi-based company got equity stakes in power generation and transmission facilities with a combined generation capacity of 2,300 megawatts in Jamaica, the Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago and Curaçao. Taqa at the time had paid $320 million (Dh1.18 billion) for the acquisition.
"Investments by the company in the Mena region will pay off in the long-term. There's a lot happening in this region and from a strategic point of view, it makes perfect sense," Chahir Hosni, sales manager with EFG-Hermes told Gulf News. "The Mena markets have lagged other emerging markets, but they are going to be benefiting from higher oil prices," he added.
Good move
Another market analyst agreed that its a good strategic move by Taqa to focus on the Mena region.
"In the foreseeable future, the global oil prices will likely average above $100 a barrel. The Mena region is going to attract major investments and I see this as a good strategic move by Taqa," he added.
Late last year, Taqa said it had received an ‘A' rating from the international credit ratings agency Standard and Poor's following an extensive review of Taqa's strategy and business plan.
