TAQA Group has announced AED 1.08 billion ($294 million ) private bonds issuance through its Moroccan subsidiary in bid to diversify its funding base.

In a statement issued to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, the company said the bond placement was oversubscribed and that the transaction resulted in a reduction in debt cost of over 20 percent, and an extension to its debt maturity date by 11 years, to 2038.

TAQA Morocco currently meets 40 percent of the country’s demand for electricity, serving 18 million people annually.

The new bond issuance follows the option to extend the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) between TAQA Morocco and the electricity off-taker Office National de l’Electricité et d’Eau Potable (ONEE), for an additional 17 years in respect to Units 1-4 of the Jorf Lasfar Power Plant, which is one of the largest in the MENA region, the company said.   

Jasim Husain Thabet, Group CEO and Managing Director of TAQA Group, said: “Our bond placement in Morocco underscores the critical role that our generation business plays in our international growth strategy.”

The bond announcement also follows TAQA’s transaction with Abu Dhabi Power Corporation (ADPower) in July, which created one of the largest publicly listed companies in the UAE by market capitalisation.

As part of the transaction, the majority of ADPower’s power and water generation, transmission and distribution assets, including Al Ain Distribution Company, Abu Dhabi Distribution Company and Abu Dhabi Transmission and Despatch Company (TRANSCO) – were transferred to TAQA in exchange for 106,367,950,000 new shares.

(Writing by Imogen Lillywhite; editing by Seban Scaria)

(imogen.lillywhite@refinitiv.com)

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