ACEN acquires stake in Bangladesh solar project


ACEN Renewables International Pte. Ltd. (ACRI) announced that its joint venture company has acquired a substantial stake in a solar project in Bangladesh.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Thursday, Dec. 12th, the firm said that IBV ACEN Renewables Asia Pte. Ltd. confirmed the completion of its transaction with Sonagazi Sun Holdings Pte Ltd. for a 49 percent stake in the firm.

Sonagazi manages a 70-megawatt (MW) solar project in Bangladesh.

According to ACEN, the acquisition price is less than 10 percent of the company's book value.

ACRI previously reported a planned investment of $18 million (approximately P1 billion) into IBV ACEN to fund the solar project. This investment will be used for capital expenditures and to acquire the 49 percent stake.

This investment is part of a larger anticipated $200 million equity investment by the platform, which aims to achieve 1,000 MW of operational capacity in the Asia Pacific region. The focus is on shovel-ready projects in various countries, including Bangladesh, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Malaysia.

IBV ACEN is a joint venture between ACRI and Singaporean solar platform ib vogt, finalized last year after receiving regulatory approvals in August 2023.

Ib vogt, a global developer of utility-scale photovoltaic (PV) projects, has a pipeline of 40,000 MW worth of projects.

The Ayala-led energy platform continues to expand its presence beyond the Philippines. It has approximately 6.8 gigawatts (GW) of attributable renewable energy capacity, with projects in Australia, Vietnam, India, Indonesia, Laos, and the United States.