Masdar in Talks to Buy Stake in Turkish Renewables Firm Fiba

(Bloomberg) -- The United Arab Emirates’ clean energy producer Masdar is in talks to buy a stake in Turkey’s Fiba Yenilenebilir Enerji, in what would be the first acquisition in a $51 billion investment push between the two countries, according to people familiar with the matter.

The negotiations aren’t finalized, the people said, without elaborating on the potential size of the deal. They asked not to be identified as the talks weren’t made public.

Fiba didn’t respond to requests for comment. Masdar said it doesn’t comment on market speculation.

Fiba, owned by Turkish billionaire Husnu Ozyegin’s Fiba Group, is one of Turkey’s top five wind-power producers, with 553 megawatts of installed capacity. Its total assets, which also include 28MW of solar power plants, were worth $1.31 billion as of December 2021 when the exchange rate averaged 13.33 liras per dollar, according to its latest financial statement.

Masdar, owned by Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Co., Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. and Abu Dhabi National Energy Co. is one of the biggest renewable energy developers in the world. Masdar plans to increase its power generation capacity from 20 gigawatts to 100GW by 2030. 

A deal with Fiba would mark Masdar’s entry into the Turkish market and help to cement a political rapprochement between Turkey and Gulf states including the UAE, of which Abu Dhabi is the capital.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan toured the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar to attract investment into his $1 trillion economy. The UAE committed $51 billion of support, of which around $30 billion will be in energy.

©2023 Bloomberg L.P.