ACWA Power, one of Saudi Arabia’s largest listed utility developers, has completed its acquisition of Badeel Company’s entire 32% stake in Shuaibah Water and Electricity Company (Shuaibah IWPP) for SAR 843.32 million, following the satisfaction of all closing conditions including approvals from regulatory authorities, shareholders, and lenders.
Deal Structure and Financing
The transaction was executed through Al Waha Projects Company, a Saudi entity wholly owned by ACWA Power, which signed the original share purchase agreement with Badeel in December 2025. The purchase price of SAR 843.32 million — equivalent to approximately USD 225 million — was agreed before price adjustments and was financed entirely from ACWA Power’s internal resources, without recourse to external debt facilities. Badeel is a subsidiary of the Public Investment Fund (PIF), Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, making this a notable instance of PIF recycling capital from an operational utility asset back to a private-sector infrastructure operator.
The Shuaibah Independent Water and Power Plant is one of the Kingdom’s major desalination and power generation facilities, located on the Red Sea coast south of Jeddah. The plant supplies potable water and electricity to residents and industries across the western region of Saudi Arabia. ACWA Power’s consolidation of a meaningful stake in this project reinforces its position as the leading private utility developer in the country.
ACWA Power’s Strategic Expansion
The completion of this acquisition adds to ACWA Power’s already substantial portfolio of power generation and water desalination assets across Saudi Arabia and more than 13 other countries. The Shuaibah transaction reflects the company’s continued commitment to owning stakes in critical national infrastructure, a strategy that has made ACWA Power one of the most internationally recognised Saudi-listed companies.
ACWA Power was established in 2004 and went public on the Saudi Exchange (Tadawul) in 2021 in what was one of the Kingdom’s largest IPOs at the time. The company operates power plants and desalination facilities with a combined capacity of over 50 gigawatts of electricity and more than 9 million cubic metres of water per day across its portfolio. Saudi Aramco, PIF, and a range of international institutional investors hold significant stakes in the company.
Water Security as a Vision 2030 Priority
Saudi Arabia’s water security strategy is a central pillar of Vision 2030. The Kingdom relies almost entirely on desalinated seawater and treated groundwater for its domestic and industrial supply, making projects like Shuaibah IWPP critical national assets. ACWA Power’s deepened ownership in this facility underscores the private sector’s growing role in managing and expanding the Kingdom’s essential utilities — a deliberate policy goal that has attracted substantial foreign investment and created a pipeline of world-class infrastructure assets listed on Tadawul.
