Abu Dhabi's TAQA plans international bond sale

DUBAI: Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA), owned by Abu Dhabi state-owned holding company ADQ, is planning an international bond sale, two sources familiar with the matter said.

One of the sources said TAQA has sent out a request for proposals for the planned transaction.

The company did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

TAQA has investments in power generation, water desalination, oil and gas exploration and production, pipelines and gas storage.

In July, TAQA closed a deal for Abu Dhabi Power Corporation (ADPower) to transfer the majority of its power and water generation, transmission and distribution assets to TAQA.

TAQA had said the deal created one of the largest utility companies in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region. ADPower, a public joint stock company that owns most of Abu Dhabi's water and electricity assets, is also owned by ADQ.

TAQA has two outstanding dollar bonds worth $750 million each that are maturing in June and December this year, Refinitiv Eikon data showed.

The bonds due in June were issued in 2016 at a coupon of 3.625% and the ones due in December were sold in 2011 at a 5.875% coupon.

This month, TAQA reported a fall in profit by nearly a half in 2020, when it posted net income of 2.79 billion dirhams ($759.64 million) compared to 5.44 billion dirhams in 2019. The fall was primarily due to lower commodity prices and production volumes in the oil and gas sector.

In November, TAQA raised its foreign ownership limit to 49% to attract investors following the deal with ADPower.