UAE's Masdar eyes Iberian renewables champion after recent deals

Masdar, the renewable energy company of the United Arab Emirates, will continue to grow its presence on the Iberian Market after signing two deals there in recent months.

Masdar has signed its second major renewables deal with Spain in the last two months. It bought Saeta Yield, a Canadian company owned by Brookfield, for $1.4 billion.

In July, the company agreed to purchase a small minority stake in an Italian Enel unit called Endesa that controls a 2 gigawatt solar portfolio.

Faisal Bhatti, M&A chief, said: "The fact we have done two deals within a few months shows that we are keen on the Spanish Market."

We're on the right track to creating our own champion.

He said that Saeta’s 745 Megawatts mostly wind assets and 1.6 GW projects in Spain and Portugal are a solid platform for growth in Iberia.

Masdar, which has a target of 100 GW of renewable capacity by 2030, has invested so far in approximately 20 GW worth $30 billion, around the globe, excluding recent deals.

Masdar, along with other large investors from the Gulf region and elsewhere have increased dealmaking efforts in a sector that has been hit hard by rising interest rates and debt costs. Energy giants such as Iberdrola or Enel are happy to sell minorities in wind and solar park to maximize returns and reduce debt.

Masdar, which is owned by the UAE's utility TAQA and oil company ADNOC as well as Mubadala Investment Co., will now concentrate on developing its Spanish platforms.

He said Masdar was in talks with Endesa about developing up to 5GW of capacity linked to the July agreement, and the Saeta Pipeline should be connected to grid by 2030.

Masdar is open to new partnership opportunities, provided they meet certain conditions. (Reporting and editing by Andrei Khalip, David Evans and Pietro Lombardi)

(source: Reuters)