Abu Dhabi wealth fund moves to take TAQA private with $5.87 billion stake increase
L'IMAD Holding's subsidiary acquired 9.1 billion additional shares in Abu Dhabi's national energy company, pushing ownership to 98.12% and triggering a mandatory buyout of remaining shareholders.
Abu Dhabi’s L’IMAD Holding, an investment vehicle linked to the emirate’s crown prince, just spent roughly $5.87 billion to swallow up nearly all of TAQA, Abu Dhabi’s national energy company. The transaction pushed L’IMAD’s ownership stake to 98.12%, setting the stage for full privatization of one of the Middle East’s most significant utility operators.
Inside the acquisition
L’IMAD’s subsidiary, Abu Dhabi Power Corporation (AD Power), acquired approximately 9.1 billion shares of TAQA on June 10 in a transaction valued at around AED 21.56 billion. That’s roughly $5.87 billion at current exchange rates.
Six days later, on June 16, L’IMAD launched a mandatory buyout offer for the remaining minority shareholders. The offer price sits at AED 2.70 per share.
TAQA, formally known as Abu Dhabi National Energy Company PJSC, operates across power generation, water desalination, oil and gas production, and the transmission and distribution infrastructure that keeps Abu Dhabi’s lights on.
What Abu Dhabi’s consolidation play signals
Abu Dhabi has been restructuring how its state-linked investment vehicles operate, with L’IMAD representing a newly established sovereign wealth vehicle aimed at managing pivotal investments under the direction of the crown prince, marking a transition away from prior control frameworks involving entities like 2PointZero and ADQ. The TAQA privatization fits into a broader pattern of consolidating strategic energy assets under tighter state control.
Once the public float of a company is eliminated, the rationale for maintaining a public listing diminishes. L’IMAD gains operational flexibility unshackled from the constraints of public ownership.
The crypto angle Abu Dhabi keeps at arm’s length
The TAQA acquisition involves no tokenized components, no digital asset treasury strategy, and no blockchain-based settlement infrastructure. No references to crypto tokens or digital asset entities appear in relation to this transaction.
What investors should watch
The mandatory buyout offer at AED 2.70 per share gives TAQA’s remaining minority holders a binary choice: accept the price or hold out. Given that L’IMAD already controls 98.12%, the leverage sits entirely with the buyer.