UAE’s largest developer sells Saadiyat Island cooling assets for $263m

UAE’s largest developer sells Saadiyat Island cooling assets for $263m

Aldar Properties has sold two of its district cooling assets on Abu Dhabi's Saadiyat Island to National Central Cooling Company (Tabreed) for AED963 million ($263 million).

The UAE's biggest developer had bought a 100 percent stake in Saadiyat District Cooling (SDCL) and an 85 percent share in Saadiyat Cooling (SCL) in 2018 as part of a wider acquisition of assets from the emirate's Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC).

The transaction is expected to complete in the first quarter of 2021, providing an internal rate of return of over 40 percent on the original equity investment by Aldar.

According to a release, the proceeds will be used to finance further growth of Aldar's diversified portfolio of high-quality income-generating property.

Talal Al Dhiyebi, CEO of Aldar Properties, said: “Aldar is pursuing attractive acquisitions, implementing an active approach to asset management and continuously recycling capital to invest in future growth. In line with this strategy, Aldar will build on its strong financial and operating performance in 2020 by further deploying capital in the long-term growth of our two core real estate businesses – asset management and development management.”

Talal Al Dhiyebi, CEO of Aldar Properties

In October it was announced that Aldar would take over the development and