SPC Power complies with public float rule

MANILA, Philippines - SPC Power Corp., an operator of state-owned power plants, has beaten the local bourse’s deadline for compliance in minimum public ownership.

This brings down the number of listed firms still non-compliant with the minimum public float rule to 17.

“JAD Holdings Inc., one of the principal stockholders of SPC Power, sold 82 million shares to Boxboard Containers Corp. and Cancorp Corp. at P4.75 per share,” the power firm said in a disclosure to the stock exchange.

Prior to the P389.5-million transaction, principal shareholder JAD Holdings held 1.494 billion shares or around 25 percent of the total issued and outstanding shares of SPC Power.

“With this sale, SPC Power became compliant with the 10 percent minimum public ownership rule as the shares classified as public shares increased from 4.53 percent to 10.01 percent of the total and outstanding shares,” SPC Power said.

The company also sold 1.054 million treasury shares between Nov. 26 and Dec. 19 at various market prices, it added.

Hence, the public float of SPC Power is now at 10.08 percent.

Early this month, SPC Power said it will sell 74.494 million treasury shares worth P360 million to increase its public float.

Treasury stocks are company-owned shares, which might have come from a buyback from shareholders or it might have never been sold to the public.

SPC Power said that last month, it already sold to the market 100,000 shares at P4.80 per share to increase its public ownership level.

SPC Power operates and maintains the 650-megawatt Malaya thermal plant in Rizal and the 145.8-MW Naga power plant complex in Cebu.

Its subsidiaries are Bohol Light Co., Inc., SPC Island Power Corp. and SPC Electric Co. Inc. It also has a stake in Mactan Electric Co. Inc. and Kepco SPC Power Corp.

SPC Power, formerly Salcon Power Corp., is a venture company that entered into a deal with the National Power Corp. to rehabilitate, operate, maintain and manage the Naga power plant complex in 1994.