Taqa may sell assets this year, hires advisers

Abu Dhabi National Energy Co (Taqa), the state-owned explorer and power supplier, may sell assets this year and has picked two international advisers for a possible sale, two sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

Taqa, about 75 percent owned by the government of Abu Dhabi, has hired Australian investment bank Macquarie and McKinsey & Co as advisers, the sources said.

"Some of Taqa's assets no longer fit into its strategy after the company's growth plans were rebalanced," one of the sources told Reuters, adding that the sales would reduce debt leverage and improve cash flow.

"Some assets could be disposed of before the year-end," a second source said.

Both sources declined to be named because the matter is not yet public. A Taqa spokesman declined to comment.

Taqa has been reviewing its project portfolio as part of a strategic review under new chief operating officer Edward LaFehr, who took charge earlier this year.

In August it ended talks to buy a 50 percent stake in the Sulaymaniyah power station in Iraq's Kurdistan region, saying the project did not match its growth strategy. In July a Taqa-led consortium pulled out of a $1.6 billion deal to buy two hydroelectric power plants from India's Jaiprakash Power Ventures.

In November last year, Taqa sold a $240 million stake in a Dutch gas pipeline. The company expanded rapidly during the past 10 years and now operates in North America, Europe, Africa and India.

Taqa reported a net profit of Dh239 million ($65.1 million) for the quarter ended June 30 compared with a loss of Dh172 million a year earlier.

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