MVP group buys 50% stake in Alsons coal company

The group of businessman Manuel V. Pangilinan has gained a foothold in Mindanao’s power sector following a deal to acquire a 50-percent stake in Alcantara family’s coal power generation holding firm, Alsons Thermal Energy Corp. (ATEC), for an estimated P4.25 billion.

The acquisition will be made through Metro Pacific Investments Corp.’s associate firm Global Business Power Corp. (GBP), the leading power producer in the Visayas.

“The new partnership with Alsons presents a significant milestone for us, through GBP, to enter the fast-growing and dynamic Mindanao market given Alsons’ proven, long standing and successful track record in owning and operating power plants in Mindanao. This strategic acquisition is in line with MPIC’s commitment to further bolster our infrastructure investments in all parts of the Philippines,” Pangilinan, MPIC and GBP chair, said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Monday.

Alsons Consolidated Resources Inc. (ACR) chair and president Tomas Alcantara said: “We look forward to a fruitful partnership that combines GBP’s technical competencies and strengths in the Visayas with ACR’s long years of experience in Mindanao as the island’s first independent power producer. We believe that this partnership will greatly benefit power consumers, particularly in light of the planned interconnection of the Mindanao and Visayas grids which we strongly support.”

ATEC is the holding company for ACR’s baseload coal-fired power plant assets.

The purchase price of P4.25 billion is still subject to adjustment on closing.

GBP intends to fund the acquisition through internal sources and external bank debt. —DORIS DUMLAO-ABADILLA