National Central Cooling Company PJSC (DFM: Tabreed), the leading regional district cooling utility company, today announced the acquisition of a significant stake in its associate, Saudi Tabreed, by the IDB Infrastructure Fund II (the Fund), managed by ASMA Capital Partners.

Saudi Tabreed is Tabreed’s district cooling investment vehicle in Saudi Arabia, held jointly with ACWA Holdings, the Al Mutlaq Group and LAMA Holding. Saudi Tabreed provides 79,000 refrigeration tons (RTs) of cooling to its Aramco and Jebel Omar projects and operates a further 130,000 RT through O&M projects across the Kingdom.

The sponsors of the Fund are the Islamic Development Bank (“IDB”), the Public Investment Fund of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (“PIF”), the Public Pension Agency of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (“PPA”), and the governments of the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Sultanate of Brunei Darussalam.  The Fund has sizable investments in infrastructure projects in the GCC countries as well as in several South and South East Asian countries.

Saudi Tabreed, as the leading district cooling company in the Kingdom, is well placed to capture growth opportunities in the largest market in the GCC. The addition of leading Saudi investment funds as strategic stakeholders in Saudi Tabreed will further enhance Saudi Tabreed’s ability to capitalize on these new opportunities and solidify Tabreed’s position as the leading district cooling company in the region.

The Fund’s investment in Saudi Tabreed will in part be in the form of subscription for new shares and in part through purchasing existing shares from all the current shareholders of Saudi Tabreed. As a result, Tabreed’s holding in Saudi Tabreed will decrease from 25% to 20%.  Tabreed will receive around AED 70 million in cash from a combination of the sale of its shares to the Fund and dividends to be paid by Saudi Tabreed. Tabreed will realize a gain on the sale of around AED 30 million.

Commenting on the transaction, Jasim Husain Thabet, Tabreed’s CEO, said: “Tabreed is delighted to welcome the Fund as a strategic partner into the shareholding of Saudi Tabreed.  The Fund’s confidence in Saudi Tabreed confirms its status as the number one provider of district cooling in Saudi Arabia and further strengthens our position to capitalize on new opportunities expected to arise in the Kingdom.”

Tabreed is a partner of choice for organizations across the GCC in providing environmentally friendly district cooling solutions that support the region’s energy sustainability. With 72 district cooling plants located throughout the region, Tabreed currently delivers over 1 million refrigeration tons to key developments in the region including iconic infrastructure projects such as Abu Dhabi’s Al Maryah Island, Yas Island, Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Dubai Metro, Dubai Parks and Resorts and other iconic developments in Sultanate of Oman and the Kingdom of Bahrain.