AC Energy’s stock rights offering plan cleared

AC Energy Philippines (Acen) takes a step further along its overhaul as the Ayala group’s domestic and international power generation platform following confirmation by regulators that the planned stock rights offering (SRO) that would raise up to P5.4 billion need not be registered.

Acen’s proposal is to offer up to about 2.27 billion common shares with a par value of P1 apiece but priced at P2.37 each.

The Securities Regulation law requires that the SRO be conducted in two rounds plus a domestic institutional offer in case there would still be unsubscribed offer shares after the second round.

In a disclosure, Acen said its parent, AC Energy and Infrastructure Corp. (ACEIC), would not take part in the first two rounds “to provide maximum availability of rights shares to the minority stockholders.”

However, ACEIC will have the option to take part in the institutional offer.

Last November, John Eric Francia—president and chief executive of both parent and subsidiary—said Acen expected to complete in the next three quarters its transformation from what was Phinma Energy Corp. into the Ayala group’s power generation platform for both domestic and overseas projects

Through this transition, Acen plans to raise as much as $600 million, which will help in achieving their goal of building a portfolio of 5,000 megawatts of renewable energy capacity by 2025.

Francia said Acen was already past the halfway mark with 2,550 MW, expressing confidence that the goal would be met ahead of schedule or as early as next year.

Acen now has 1,350 MW of renewable capacity under its belt and by next year, it expects to add 1,200 MW.

The additional capacity represents Acen’s equity in various projects across the region—the Philippines, Australia, India and Vietnam—that have total renewable energy-based generating capacity of 1,500 MW.