Alsons, Toyota Tsusho push back buy-in deal

MANILA, Philippines - Listed holding firm Alsons Consolidated Resources Inc. (ACR) has delayed the closing of a partnership deal with Japan’s Toyota Tsusho Corp.

The 25-percent buy-in of Toyota in power producer Sarangani Energy Corp. (SEC) will be finalized this month, a company official said.

“There are no major changes in the agreement. It was just the timing of certain things that have to be done,” said ACR chief finance officer Luis R. Ymson Jr.

“The shareholders agreement due for signing between ACR and Toyota has had some changes in certain provisions relating to the conditions precedent to the agreement taking effect,” ACR said in a disclosure.

Hence, the closing of the deal has been pushed back to end-September from the previous target of end-August.

Toyota is buying into SEC, which plans to build a 105-megawatt (MW) coal plant. SEC has a deal to sell 70 MW of electricity to South Cotabato II Electric Cooperative Inc.

SEC also has signed power supply agreements with Agusan Del Norte Electric Cooperative Inc., Agusan Del Sur Electric Cooperative Inc. and Davao del Norte Electric Cooperative Inc.

The first phase of the SEC power plant will start operations early in 2015, which will be followed by another 105-MW that will provide additional output in electricity-starved Mindanao.

“We are on schedule on construction of the plant,” Ymson said.

The Mindanao grid, which needs an average of 1,300 MW daily, lacked an average of 50 MW to 300 MW, resulting in two to four hours of rotating brownouts from January to April.

The Mindanao-based energy firm is also waiting for the Iligan city government to pass a resolution for the sale of the power plant.

The 100-MW plant, which was last operated in 2010, was sold to ACR subsidiary Conal Holdings Corp. after it was acquired by the local government due to a tax delinquency.

However, the power plant also needs clearance from the Commission on Audit before it resumes operation.