Alsons sells P2.4B worth of Atec shares

Alsons Consolidated Resources (ACR) is cementing its partnership with Global Business Power Corp. (GBPC) by selling P2.4 billion worth of shares in Alsons Thermal Energy Corp. (Atec) and assigning half of its receivables to the GBPC.

ACR said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange it would sell about 15 million shares in Atec at P159.03 per share.

ACR said that through the sale of shares, it would gain a strategic partner for the coal power plant projects it owns, and future energy projects it would undertake through Atec.

“The partnership will greatly benefit the power consumers with the combined technical competencies and strengths of GBPC in the Visayas and ACR’s long years of experience in Mindanao as the island’s first independent power producer, particularly in light of the planned interconnection of the Mindanao and Visayas grids,” the company said.

Last September, the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) approved the acquisition by GBPC of 50 percent minus one share in Atec.

In a decision dated Sept. 25, the PCC’s Mergers and Acquisitions Office said the transaction did not result in substantial lessening of competition in the power generation market.

“The merged firm does not have the ability or incentive to engage in foreclosure after the acquisition,” the PCC said in a statement.

“There is also sufficient competitive constraints from competitors in the said market,” the antitrust body added.