The Dubai-based GCC Energy Fund has announced that a consortium of investors, led by the fund, has acquired a controlling interest in Oman’s Dhofar Power Company (DPC).

Under the terms of the deal, the consortium comprising the GCC Energy Fund, Darbat Power of Oman and Malakoff Berhad, a Malaysian power company, has acquired a 46 per cent controlling stake in DPC, a uniquely placed integrated power utility, from its previous largest stakeholder, the US-based PSEG Global.
The GCC Energy Fund, the Middle East’s first private equity fund focused on the region’s energy sector, played the lead role in identifying the opportunity, structuring the deal and bringing together the major participants.
DPC provides power to the south of Oman, including the country’s second largest city, Salalah, and is one of the few private utilities in the region involved in power generation, transmission and distribution. The company started commercial operations in May 2003 with a generation capacity of 242 MW and high voltage transmission lines totaling 2,000 km in length, servicing a customer base of 54,000. “For over three years DPC has been run efficiently for providing reliable service to its customers and ensuring the highest standards of safety in its operations,” a statement said.
Adil Toubia, chief executive officer, the GCC Energy Fund, remarked: “We are delighted to announce the successful completion of this transaction and look forward to playing a central role in the growth of DPC, both within Oman  as well as regionally.
“Over the past few years the power requirements of DPC’s customer base and that of South Oman have risen considerably and offer significant opportunities for growth. There is a strong management team in place and we are fully committed to supporting it in pursuing such opportunities and meeting the company’s long-term business objectives” he added. 
Tariq Al-Aujaili, a director on the board of DPC, said: “We are very pleased to have the GCC Energy Fund invest in DPC and value the contribution that it will make towards the growth of the company.”
The GCC Energy Fund was launched in 2005 as a private equity fund focused on making investments in companies and projects across a range of industries within the energy sector.
“Our goal is to achieve sustainable growth for all the companies we invest in and we are already delivering on that objective through transactions like this one,” said Toubia.
The GCC Energy Fund is sponsored by Gulf International Bank (GIB) and Standard Bank and co-sponsored by Emirates National Oil Company (Enoc).
As a pioneering initiative, it offers regional and international investors a unique opportunity to invest in the world’s most important energy market, through a well-diversified energy portfolio under the management of a professional team based in Dubai.