Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance advises Actis on purchase of 50% stake in Emirates District Cooling Company at an enterprise value of USD 1bn

Leading international law firm Clifford Chance has advised Actis, a leading global investor in sustainable infrastructure, on its entry into a share purchase agreement to acquire a 50% stake in Emirates District Cooling Company (EMICOOL) LLC from Dubai Investments PJSC at an enterprise value of USD 1 billion, forming a joint venture for district cooling in the region.

The transaction will be one of the largest deals in the district cooling industry in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and underpins the growing demand for district cooling. With an extensive network in multiple geographies, the JV will aim to make Emicool one of the leading providers of sustainable and efficient district cooling services in the wider MENA region. Launched in 2003 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Dubai Investments, Emicool currently serves more than 2,000 buildings across the UAE.

District cooling companies, growing at a rapid pace in the Middle East, deliver chilled water through insulated pipes to run air conditioning systems. They offer increased energy efficiency and higher reliability, saving up to 50% of energy compared to traditional air conditioning systems.

The Clifford Chance team was led by UAE Corporate/M&A partner Jason Mendens and supported by senior associate Rizwan Butt, associate Abhinav Yarrapotu and trainee Sam Robinson. Additional support was provided by:

Finance: Nicola Reader (Partner, Abu Dhabi), Fayo Arowojolu (Associate, Dubai), Danny Wang (Associate, Abu Dhabi) and Mahmoud ElBanhawi (Associate, Dubai)
Antitrust: Jennifer Storey (Partner, London), and Sam Parry (Senior Associate, London)
Projects: Richard Parris (Partner, Dubai) and Aditya Gaur (Senior Associate, Dubai)

Recently named MENA M&A Legal Advisor of the Year by Mergermarket in 2022, Clifford Chance's Tier 1-ranked Corporate team advises on the region's most high profile, largest and innovative M&A transactions. This has recently included advising on the largest ever M&A deal in the Middle East (PIF's US$69 billion sale of its stake in SABIC), as well as the largest ever M&A deal in the UAE (AD Power's US$20 billion sale to TAQA).