Tabreed seeks to buy PAL cooling unit from Abu Dhabi’s Multiply

Stepping inside any of the UAE’s palatial-sized attractions – from Dubai’s 163-story Burj Khalifa and metal-domed Louvre Abu Dhabi to the gleaming white Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque – visitors hit a wall of cool air that provides relief from the Gulf’s scorching sun.

The company responsible for keeping the heat at bay is National Central Cooling, known as Tabreed, which looks likely to expand its portfolio of district cooling contracts soon to include a large swathe of Abu Dhabi’s offices and residential buildings. Tabreed is backed by the French electric utility company, Engie.

Abu Dhabi’s Multiply Group has entered exclusive talks to sell its PAL Cooling unit to Tabreed, and private equity firm CVC for $1.1 billion, Reuters reports. With it will come long-term agreements with Abu Dhabi master developers, including Aldar Properties and Reem Developers.

Multiply, the Abu Dhabi-based investment company controlled by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed’s IHC, was first reported to be working with the Standard Chartered bank on finding a buyer for the cooling unit earlier this year. 

District cooling, described as “chilled water” on utility bills in Abu Dhabi, is a system of centralized cooling that pumps cold water via insulated pipes into many of the UAE capital’s skyscrapers and residential buildings to keep them comfortable.

The system is viewed as more environmentally friendly than traditional air conditioning and has become a critical utility in the Gulf, where the hot season is growing longer every year, with extreme temperatures driving the population indoors for months at a time.