Not done yet, Acen seeking to raise up to P16B in fresh funds

In yet another step forward in its evolution into the Ayala group’s integrated platform for domestic and overseas power generation projects, AC Energy Corp. (Acen) plans to raise about P12 billion to P16 billion from a follow-on offering (FOO) of up to two billion primary shares.

Acen said in a disclosure the company’s executive committee approved on Thursday a price range of P6 to P8 per share. The FOO would also include secondary shares, but the total size of the offering would be determined later.

Acen president John Eric Francia said earlier this week that, pending regulatory approvals, the company intended to conduct the FOO around the middle of this year.

This exercise follows a stock rights offering (SRO) that was completed last week. Acen listed 2.27 billion common shares and raised about P5.4 billion.

With the SRO done, Francia said Acen would now be able to wrap up Arran Investment Pte Ltd.’s subscription of four billion primary shares in the Ayala group subsidiary. Arran is an affiliate of Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC Private Ltd.Acen first announced plans for the FOO last December. Francia said this was also in compliance with a directive from the Philippine Stock Exchange.

Along with preparations for the FOO, the company would also update this quarter a third-party valuation of its international assets, which would come from parent firm AC Energy and Infrastructure Corp. later this year.

Francia said both their domestic and international portfolios have “expanded significantly” such that an updated valuation was needed.