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Lunate to acquire Snam stake in Abu Dhabi pipeline

28 January 2025

Abu Dhabi-based investment firm Lunate is to acquire a minority stake in Adnoc Gas Pipelines that is indirectly held by Italian gas infrastructure operator Snam.

The deal comes less than one year after Lunate acquired a 40% stake in Adnoc Oil Pipelines from US asset management firms BlackRock and KKR.

The transaction with Snam, which is subject to the signing of the sale and purchase agreement, as well as to the potential exercise of the relevant shareholders’ rights, will be made through Lunate’s Long-Term Capital Fund 1, Snam said in a statement on 28 January.

Adnoc Gas Pipelines, a subsidiary of state energy company Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc), has lease rights to 38 pipelines covering a total of 982 kilometres across the UAE.

The gas pipeline network serves as a strategic link connecting Adnoc's upstream assets to local UAE offtakers.

"It represents a high-quality and essential asset that generates stable and predictable cash flows in a critical sector and is a major contributor to the UAE’s energy infrastructure strategy," the statement said.

Snam acquired its stake in Adnoc Gas Pipelines in 2020, along with other consortium partners, including GIP, GIC, Brookfield Asset Management, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board and NH Investment & Securities, through Galaxy Pipeline Assets HoldCo.

Lunate acquired its 40% stake in Adnoc Oil Pipelines from BlackRock and KKR in April 2024.

The acquisition by Lunate’s Long Term Capital Fund was executed through the purchase of a 100% stake in a special purpose vehicle jointly held by BlackRock and KKR managed funds, Lunate said at the time.

The parties did not disclose the financial terms of the deal. BlackRock and KKR spent $4bn on the acquisition of the 40% stake in Adnoc Oil Pipelines in 2019.

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Jennifer Aguinaldo

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