Abu Dhabi’s National Energy Company (Taqa) has confirmed the reports that the company in talks with the three largest shareholders of Spanish firm Naturgy Energy Group – Criteria Caixa, GIP and CVC- to discuss a possible takeover bid of the energy company.
The company confirmed the news in a filing with the Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange (ADX) where its shares are traded.
“If such an acquisition occurs, this would trigger an offer for all the shares of Naturgy,” Taqa said in the statement. “No agreement has been reached with Criteria Caixa, CVC or GIP.”
Naturgy is Spain’s largest gas firm. Valued at approximately $22 billion , the takeover of Naturgy would be the largest by a sovereign wealth fund, Diego Lopez of fund tracker Global SWF said.
Meanwhile, Taqa is one of the largest integrated utilities in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region, with the goal of trippling its gross power capacity to 150 gigawatts by 2030. The company more than doubled its yearly net profit in 2023, as a result of higher tariffs and strong demand for its transmission and distribution services.
Taqa’s net profit for 2023 reached Dh16.7 billion. In addition to ADNOC, Taqa, is also a shareholder in Masdar and Mubadala.
Following the announcement, Naturgy stock jumped 6.13% to trade at €22.84 ($24.32).
