AC Energy infuses P350M to land unit

AC Energy Philippines Inc. (Acen) is infusing P350 million into its subsidiary Buendia Christiana Holdings Corp. (BCHC) to support the latter’s acquisition of land that will be used in Acen’s potential projects.Acen said in a disclosure it signed an agreement with BCHC for the subscription of 3.5 million preferred shares in BCHC at P100 apiece.

The total amount is to be paid with an initial P150 million, and the remainder to be paid in tranches on demand.

“The subscription will be used by BCHC to fund acquisition of potential project sites,” the Ayala group’s power generation platform said.

BCHC is a special purpose vehicle set up to own land for Acen’s development projects.

Earlier this week, Acen said the Philippine Stock Exchange approved last Dec. 16 its application for the listing of close to 2.27 billion shares.

Acen is gearing up for a stocks right offering, with the shares to be issued priced at P2.37 apiece, subject to approval by the Securities and Exchange Commission.Acen expects 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.Company president John Eric Francia earlier said Acen was already past the halfway mark with 2,550 MW, expressing confidence that the goal will be met ahead of schedule or as early as next year.

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

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