By Myrna M. Velasco
AC Energy of the Ayala group will be acquiring the majority shareholdings of 51.48-percent of the Del Rosario-led PHINMA in its energy subsidiary PHINMA Energy Corporation.
Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala
The Ayala firm said this will be carried out through secondary shares sale – of which total transaction had been estimated at P3.42 billion, based on the December 31, 2018 valuation of PHINMA Energy.
In addition, AC Energy will be subscribing to roughly 2.632 billion primary shares of PHINMA Energy at par value.
The relevant parties, in separate statements to the media, indicated that “closing of the transaction is subject to satisfaction of certain conditions,” – including regulatory approvals primarily that of the Philippine Competition Commission.
AC Energy and PHINMA will also need to comply with all corresponding regulatory requirements relative to the planned tender offer.
The major partnership of these two companies had been the 270-megawatt South Luzon Thermal Energy Corporation, a two-phased coal fired power project which is of 135MW capacity each per unit. The plant has a net capacity of 244MW.
According to Ayala Corporation Chairman and CEO Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, their company’s buy-in into PHINMA will cement the former’s integration into AC Energy’s platform.
He asserted that the PHINMA group had been “one of our early partners when Ayala was new to the power sector,” and since their tie-up flourished in the last eight years, the business consolidation is a step further into the Ayala group’s target to grow in the power generation sector.
For PHINMA President and CEO Ramon R. del Rosario Jr., their group deemed that AC Energy “is best-positioned to grow the business and take it to the next level.”
He added “this strategic move allows PHINMA to focus on our rapidly expanding investments and operations in the education and construction materials sectors.”
When asked on how management and operations of the energy assets will change, both parties have not responded to queries as of this writing.
AC Energy President and CEO Eric T. Francia indicated that the transaction “is an important step for AC Energy to achieve 5.0-gigawatt of renewables by 2025,” noting the significant portfolio that PHINMA Energy also has in the RE sector, including its 54MW San Lorenzo wind power project in Guimaras.
PHINMA Energy has attributable generation capacity of 472 megawatts and is currently the third largest retail electricity supplier with a portfolio of 378 megawatts.