(MENAFN - Arab News) Saudi Public Pension Agency (PPA) and Sanabil have acquired a 19.4 percent of equity stake in ACWA Power International (ACWA Power), it was officially stated here yesterday.
ACWA Power announced the closing of a private placement transaction of a new issue of 89.5 million primary equity shares to Sanabil Direct Investment Company (Sanabil), which is owned by Saudi Arabian Investment Company, and subsequently owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF) and PPA.
Sanabil and PPA will consequently own 13.72 percent and 5.71 percent equity stakes respectively and will each be entitled to a seat on the board of directors.
"We are pleased that Sanabil and PPA have joined ACWA Power as new investors. This will have a significant positive impact on the strength of the company's financial position and on its business by accelerating the execution of its strategic and expansion plans to become the prime international developer of power generation and water desalination plants both in Saudi Arabia and globally," Mohammad A. Abunayyan, chairman of ACWA Power, said.
"This partnership did not come overnight. We view it as a reinforcement of the success that ACWA Power has achieved in the power and water industry. We believe that Sanabil and PPA joining ACWA Power as shareholders is a quantum leap for the company's bright future. Such a strategic milestone is a new starting point for ACWA Power to move to a wider business horizon," Abunayyan said.
ACWA Power's portfolio of assets includes some of the world's largest plants in their respective categories, such as Qurayyah IPP, Shuaibah IWPP in Saudi Arabia and Ouarzazate CSP IPP in Morocco.
"ACWA Power's track record of success would not have been achieved without the vision of the Saudi Government under the leadership of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, who has encouraged companies like ACWA Power to actively add value to the national economy and outreach for global successes," Abunayyan said.
" We are proud of our staff, who have proven their ability to successfully compete with, and fairly and squarely overcome their counterparts of companies with a long history of international experience. ACWA Power's experts have demonstrated their ability to deliver projects on time, and in some instances, a few months earlier than the contracted date," he added.
"PPA seeks attractive investments in successful National companies which demonstrate a long-term ability to generate sustainable returns. Based on the due diligence performed by PPA, ACWA Power has become successful in record time through management of its portfolio of assets, which contains some of the Kingdom's largest water desalination and power generation plants in addition to its success in international markets in a short time period," PPA Gov. Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Kharashi said.
He added that ACWA Power has demonstrated its long-term vision by investing in renewable energy facilities such as its projects in Morocco, Bulgaria and South Africa. PPA has taken up a 5.71 percent share in ACWA Power's paidup capital.
Ibrahim bin Muhammed Alromaih, CEO of Sanabil, pointed out that Sanabil's investment in ACWA Power is consistent with its strategy to invest in the growth of Saudi private companies that contribute to the local economy.
"With the constantly increasing demand for power and water in Saudi Arabia, ACWA Power plays an important role in helping our nation fulfill these critical needs. Through this investment, Sanabil is pleased to become a long-term partner of ACWA Power and to contribute to its long-term success and development," Alromaih added.
Paddy Padmanathan, president and CEO of ACWA Power, said he was proud of the company's increasing contribution to the Saudi national economy. "As a leader in the power and desalinated water industry, ACWA Power has been able to compete with well-established international companies operating in the field of power generation and water desalination for decades and has successfully won major local and international bids," he added.
Since its beginning in 2004 when it won Saudi Arabia's first IWPP project, ACWA Power has demonstrated consistently rapid growth. At present ACWA Power has a diversified portfolio of 19 assets in eight countries across three continents with a contracted gross capacity of 13,000 MW of power generation and 2.37 million cubic meters per day of desalinated water production, and a total investment in excess of 17 billion (SR 63 billion).
