AC Energy beefing up capital to support expansion

Phinma Energy Corp., now AC Energy Philippines Inc., on Thursday said its board had approved the increase in its authorized capital stock to P24.4 billion or almost triple the previous P8.4 billion, partly to expand its portfolio of assets and projects.

In a regulatory filing, the company, which is now a subsidiary of the Ayala group’s AC Energy Inc., also said the Securities and Exchange Commission approved on Oct. 11 the change of its corporate name.

“In relation to the increase in authorized capital stock, the company plans to raise capital through a rights offering,” it added.

The company said the additional capital would be used for investments in greenfield projects and acquisition of power assets, including part of AC Energy’s onshore power generation and development assets.

Last week, AC Energy Philippines said it intended to avail itself of loans of up to P15 billion, and that it would invest in greenfield developments such as a solar farm project in Laguna and a diesel-fired power project in Rizal.

Also, the company will assume the right to purchase the 20-percent interest of Axia Power Holdings Philippines Inc.—a unit of Marubeni Corp.— in South Luzon Thermal Energy Corp. (SLTEC), which is a joint venture among AC Energy, Phinma Energy and Axia Power.

In September, following the first annual stockholders meeting of Phinma Energy under new management, company president John Eric T. Francia said they were in the process of combining the assets and capabilities of AC Energy and Phinma Energy “to form a stronger and more agile energy platform,” which was intended to be the leader in renewable energy in the Philippines.

Francia said the subsidiary was eyeing close to $2 billion or P100 billion of investments in domestic renewable energy projects, with a goal of racking up a total of 2,000 megawatts of capacity within six years.

Francia said the consolidation of the company’s ownership would enable SLTEC to withstand market volatility and be competitive for the long term.