Delisting talk drives 5.7% surge in First Gen shares
Lopez-led First Gen Corporation (FGen) has sparked investor sentiment after it disclosed plans to potentially go private.
Based on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) update on Friday, Nov. 28, as of 12 p.m., Lopez-led First Gen Corporation (FGen) saw its stock price rise by 5.70 percent to ₱17.44.
This upward movement has likely been prompted by FGen’s openness to delisting from PSE, as reported by online news outlet InsiderPH on Thursday.
Juan Paolo Colet, managing director of Chinabank Capital Corp., believed that the energy firm’s stock is worth more than its current price, which supports delisting as an option.
“First Gen has every reason to delist. The stock price has been undervalued for a long time, the public float is very low, and there's not a lot of trading liquidity,” he told the Manila Bulletin.
“After the majority sale of its gas business, perhaps the best use of its cash windfall is to give public shareholders an orderly exit via a delisting tender offer at a good price.”
Recently, FGen chief executive officer (CEO) Federico Lopez disclosed that the company is willing to look into the possibility of privatizing in the future; however, no definitive plans have been made yet.
This is not new to the energy firm, as its geothermal subsidiary, Energy Development Corp., had already taken this turn last 2018.
To recall, the geothermal firm has exited the PSE as part of its corporate plans to operate with more strategic freedom.
This delisting plan was announced a week after FGen closed the ₱50-billion sale of its gas business to Razon-led Prime Infrastructure Capital, Inc. (Prime Infra).
This granted Prime Infra a 60-percent stake in five gas-fired power plants, while FGen retains a 20-percent stake and Japan’s Tokyo Gas holds another 20 percent in the co-owned liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal.
While they’re letting go of a majority of ownership in gas, FGen remains bullish in terms of ramping up renewable energy (RE). Last week, the company shared its plans to develop 200 megawatts (MW) worth of hydropower capacity through the development of its pumped-storage and three run-of-river (ROR) hydropower projects.
The firm’s hydropower assets grew during the first nine months of the year by 65 percent due to higher output and improved energy sales.