In a major move, ALEC Engineering and Contracting has signed an agreement to acquire Target Engineering Construction, a leading EPC contractor in Dubai offering in-house services for major construction disciplines in onshore and offshore areas.

A unit of Dubai’s sovereign wealth fund ICD (Investment Corporation of Dubai), ALEC said this acquisition will help enhance its established capabilities in marine and industrial construction while enabling the construction company to mark its entry into the oil and gas sector.

However, under this deal, Target will continue to operate as an independent entity, while drawing on the skills and resources of the broader ALEC Group.

Announcing the key acquisition deal on December 20, 2022, ALEC said with this agreement, the companies will have a joint turnover of close to $2 billion.

ALEC Engineering: leveraging its expertise to enter new markets

ALEC will now boost its resources with the significant assets held by Target Engineering, including its 11,000-strong workforce, over 30 marine vessels, and 52,000 sq m of API/ASME-certified fabrication facilities.

Additionally, the ICD unit will get control over Italian specialised marine design engineering firm Idrotec through Target’s strategic stake in the company.

“This acquisition further advances ALEC’s position in the regional construction industry while simultaneously enabling it to enter and fast-track its strategy of becoming a key player in the Middle East oil and gas, and energy and renewables sectors by drawing from the extensive expertise, and resources that Target Engineering has developed over its celebrated 40-year history,” remarked Khalifa Al Daboos, Deputy CEO at ICD.

“For ICD, this move enables us to align strongly with the UAE government’s ongoing investment into developing world-class critical infrastructure facilities that support its ambition of being an advanced, sustainable economy,” he noted.

Founded in 1975, Target Engineering operates through four specialised divisions - Mechanical Oil & Gas, Electrical, Civil, and Marine.

The company’s customer base comprises leading energy companies, major EPC (Engineering, procurement, and construction) contractors, government entities and property developers.

Some of the major projects it has completed include work at ENEC’s Barakah Nuclear Power Plant, Adnoc Gas Processing’s Ruwais LNG Terminal, Saudi Aramco’s Abqiq plant, and ENOC’s Jebel Ali Refinery expansion.

In addition to this, Target Engineering has several active projects including Borouge 4 and Delma B in joint venture for Adnoc and IGDC for Adgas.

“ALEC has an established track record of continuously enhancing the skills and capabilities within the organisation, and leveraging this expertise to enter into, and become a market leader in new market segments,” stated its CEO Kez Taylor.

“Bringing Target Engineering within our fold is a move that plays to both these objectives as their specialist skillsets in energy – including renewables, marine, and industrial construction – perfectly augment ALEC’s own capabilities. This will enable us to present an even stronger joint value proposition to customers,” noted Taylor.

Target Engineering CEO Chaouci Yassine said per the deal, it will continue to operate as an independent entity, while drawing on the skills and resources of the broader ALEC Group.

“Today’s announcement is a landmark event in the over four-decade long journey of our company. We will now benefit from the strong financial position and world-class leadership and project execution capabilities of ALEC,” observed Yassine.

“This will fuel our ambitious growth plans across the Middle East as we can now deliver best-of-breed EPC and specialist marine services to an even broader segment of high-profile regional entities,” he added.