UAE district cooling: Tabreed in alliance to buy Abu Dhabi's PAL Cooling for Dh3.8 billion

Dubai: The UAE's district cooling market has seen a round of consolidation with Tabreed and CVC DIF buying PAL Cooling Holding from Abu Dhabi based Multiply Group.

Tabreed, listed on DFM, has a sizable portfolio of district cooling operations in the UAE and outside.

CVC DIF is the infrastructure strategy arm of the global private markets manager CVC.

In April 2020, Tabreed had paid Dh2.8 billion to buy part of the district cooling capacity in Downtown Dubai.

The transaction to buy PAL Cooling has an equity value of around Dh3.8 billion. The Abu Dhabi firm holds three long-term concessions in the Abu Dhabi main island area and five long-term concessions on Al Reem Island.

The concessions are serviced by five district cooling plants and associated networks in Abu Dhabi, with a connected capacity of 182,000 refrigeration tons (RT) as of December 2024.

An additional plant is under construction and three more are in the planning phase.

"Together the nine plants and eight concessions are expected to represent approximately 600,000 RT," said a statement.

"This year has been historic for Tabreed, with ventures like our Palm Jebel Ali JV and continued growth in Abu Dhabi," said Dr. Bakheet Al Katheeri, Chairman of Tabreed. "These steps position us to meet the UAE’s rising demand for sustainable cooling, driven by population growth and de-carbonisation targets.”

PAL was founded in 2006 and has eight, long-term concession agreements and partnerships with leading developers, including Aldar Properties, Modon and Imkan.

"PAL is strongly positioned on Al Reem Island, which is a strategic destination now fully part of the ADGM free zone," said the statement. And 'with future network expansion already licenced by Abu Dhabi’s Department of Energy'.

On DFM, the Tabreed stock will start the day at Dh2.79, still some way off from the 52-week high of Dh3.2. The company had been reporting a healthy set of results in recent quarters.

Tabreed provides services to the likes of Burj Khalifa, Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Louvre Abu Dhabi, Ferrari World, Emirates Towers and Yas Island. Outside of UAE, there are projects with Bahrain Financial Harbor and Jabal Omar Development in the Mecca.

The Multiply Group - which recently recast its media operations - has seen its stock gain 13.5% in the year-to-date. It is at Dh2.35 now.