ACEN invests P415 million in subsidiary for landbanking

MANILA, Philippines — AC Energy Corp. (ACEN) has invested P415 million in its subsidiary for future power projects.

In a disclosure to the Philippines Stock Exchange yesterday, ACEN said it signed a subscription agreement with wholly owned subsidiary Buendia Christiana Holdings Corp. (BCHC).

Under the agreement, ACEN will subscribe to 75 million redeemable preferred A shares with a par value of P0.10 per share, and 4.075 million redeemable preferred B shares with a par value of P100 per share, for a total par value of P415 million, to be issued out of the increase in BCHC’s authorized capital stock.

The subscription is subject to the necessary regulatory approvals from the Securities and Exchange Commission.

BCHC, a subsidiary of ACEN, is a special purpose vehicle which will own land for the company’s development projects.

“The subscription will be used by BCHC to fund acquisition of potential project sites,” ACEN said.

Last year, ACEN poured in P250 million and P350 million in BCHC via subscription deals signed in September and December, respectively, to acquire potential sites for future projects.

The Ayala Group’s power arm is working on a robust pipeline of 12 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy projects in Asia-Pacific, of which 3,400 MW are in the Philippines.

Currently, ACEN has close to 500 megawatts (MW) of renewables in the Philippines and is set to add 1,400 MW with the infusion of the Ayala Group’s international power assets in Vietnam, Indonesia, Australia, India and Myanmar.

For this year, the company is launching 500 MW of new projects in the country.

So far, it started construction of the 72-MW solar farm in Arayat, Pampanga, a joint venture development with Citicore Solar Energy Corp., and the 160-MW Balaoi and Caunayan wind project in Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte, its latest project with long-time partner UPC Renewables.

Meanwhile, the company is slated to complete five projects in the country – the 63-MW Gigasol Palauig solar farm in Pangasinan, which started operating in April; the 120-MW Alaminos solar farm also in Pangasinan, which is eyed to start operating in May; the 150-MW diesel modular generator set power plant in Pililia, Rizal, a joint venture with Marubeni Corp. of Japan;  the 4-MW renewable energy laboratory in Mariveles, Bataan; and the 40-MWh Alaminos battery energy storage system (BESS) project to be operational within the third quarter.

ACEN, the energy platform of Ayala Corp., is one of the fastest growing energy companies with over $1 billion of invested and committed equity in renewable and thermal energy in the Philippines and around the region.

The company aims to exceed five GW of attributable capacity—with projects here and abroad, to generate at least 50 percent of energy from renewables by 2025, and to become the largest listed renewables platform in Southeast Asia.