Belgrove Power cleared to acquire Malaya plant in Rizal

Belgrove Power Corp., a subsidiary of Fort Pilar Energy Inc. (FPEI), has assumed the right to purchase the 650-megawatt Malaya thermal power plant and the land on which the facility stands in Rizal province, according to the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (Psalm).FPEI won a round of negotiations on the sale held in May with its offer of P3.12 billion that was significantly above the minimum bid price of P1.84 billion.

The sole competitor for Malaya’s negotiated sale was the Ayala group’s AC Energy Corp., whose offer was P2.22 billion.

Psalm said in a statement that based on the terms of Malaya’s privatization process, the winning bidder may assign its right to purchase to its wholly owned subsidiary.

“Psalm considered the request for assignment only after ascertaining the [Belgrove’s] juridical existence and financial capability through a rigorous evaluation process and upon obtaining FPEI’s acceptance of the additional conditions that it will become solidarily liable with Belgrove for any and all obligations of Belgrove as buyer under the APA (asset purchase agreement),” Psalm president and chief executive Irene Besido-Garcia said.

Garcia said the next step in the privatization process was the filing of all the required documents with the Philippine Competition Commission for the issuance of a certificate of noncoverage. Also in May, FPEI chief executive Joseph Omar Castillo said they placed great value on the strategic location of the Malaya plant—Pililla, Rizal—“that lies at the very heart of the Luzon grid.”

“We envision a modern energy facility in the site to strengthen the power situation in Luzon,” Castillo said.

FPEI has invested more than P5 billion in building energy storage facilities in the Zamboanga peninsula to help address the voltage issues in that region. INQ