ACWA Power acquires 4.99% of Samsung C&T’s stake in Saudi power plant operator

Saudi-based utilities provider, ACWA Power, signed a share purchase agreement with Samsung C&T to acquire 4.99% of its shares in Hajr Electricity Production Company (HEPC), it said in a statement today.

HEPC operates the Qurayyah Independent Power Plant (IPP) in Saudi Arabia and is currently majority owned by Saudi Electricity Co. (SEC) with a 50% stake, and the remaining 50% ownership is held by a consortium of ACWA Power, MENA Infrastructure Fund, and Samsung C&T.

With the purchase of the stake from Samsung C&T, ACWA Power will further solidify its position as the second largest shareholder after the offtaker SEC.

However, ACWA Power will have an option of purchasing the remaining stake of Samsung C&T in HEPC later, the statement added.

“The increase of equity participation in the Qurayyah IPP project is an indication of ACWA Power’s confidence in the Kingdom’s economy set on a growth trajectory by the steady implementation of the various programs within the framework of Vision 2030,” Paddy Padmanathan, CEO of ACWA Power, said.

The $2.7 billion Qurayyah IPP was signed in 2011 and 75% of financing was done through long-term project financed debt and the remaining in the form of equity.

With a net capacity of 3,927 megawatts (MW), Qurayyah IPP has the potential to save more than 6,000 cubic meters of carbon emissions annually.