ACEN ups stake in 3 Ilocos wind farms

MANILA, Philippines — AC Energy Corp. (ACEN) is raising its stake in three wind farms in Ilocos to raise the company’s attributable renewables capacity and project pipeline in the Philippines.

In a statement, ACEN said its board approved the acquisition of its partners’ stake in Northwind Power Development   Corp. and all the Philippine operating and development assets of UPC Philippines Wind Investment Co. B.V.

“We have had excellent relationship and outcomes with our partners from Northwind and UPC Philippines and would like to thank our partners for the trust and collaboration all these years,” ACEN president and CEO Eric Francia said.

“These transactions enable us to leverage synergies across the ACEN portfolio and allow our partners to benefit from ACEN in the long long-term,” he said.

ACEN will increase its stake in Northwind to 100 percent through the acquisition of the 32.2 percent interest of its partners for P1.09 billion, subject to adjustments.

The Northwind sellers, in turn, will subscribe to up to 90 million shares of ACEN at a subscription price of up to P11.32 per share, subject to adjustments.

Known as the Bangui Windmills, NorthWind is the first wind farm in Southeast Asia that started commercial operations in 2005. The Bangui Windmills was also the first renewable energy project of ACEN.

ACEN will also acquire the ownership of UPC Philippines and Stella Marie Sutton in various energy companies, including all of UPC Philippines’ interests in North Luzon Renewables – the owner of the operating 81-megawatt (MW) Caparispisan wind farm, Bayog Wind Power Corp. – the owner of the 160-MW Pagudpud Wind currently under construction, and various renewable energy projects under development.

The company will purchase these assets for P4.5 billion while UPC Philippines will subscribe to up to 390 million shares of ACEN at a subscription price of up to P11.32 per share, subject to adjustments.

With the acquisition of UPC Philippines’ shares, ACEN said it would take full ownership of the 160-MW Pagudpud Wind and raise its stake in the 81-MW North Luzon Renewables wind farm to 78 percent. The acquisition also includes UPC Philippines’ renewable development pipeline totaling 1,300 MW.

“As we set our sights on expanding our scale and efficiency, these acquisitions will prove to be an important catalyst in meaningfully expediting the shift to renewables,” ACEN’s chief development officer Jose Maria Zabaleta said.

“The additional 1,300 MW of renewables pipeline and expanded operations will accelerate our sustainable growth   towards developing high value renewable energy projects,” he said.

The  acquisitions are subject to definitive documentation, and compliance with agreed conditions precedent as well as applicable consents and regulatory approvals.

ACEN, the  listed energy platform of the Ayala Group, has 2,600 MW of attributable capacity in the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, India and Australia. The company’s renewable share of capacity is at 80 percent, among the highest in the region.

It aims to be the largest listed renewables platform in Southeast Asia, with a goal of reaching 5,000 MW of renewables capacity by 2025.