The PSE suspended ACE Enexor [ACEX 39.00 susp] yesterday under the Backdoor Listings rule, after ACEX acquired stakes in 5 thermal power generation assets from AC Energy [ACEN 10.50 4.55%], ACEX’s parent company, in exchange for 339,076,058 newly-issued shares of ACEX at a value of P10/share, for a total value of P3.4 billion.
The PSE determined that the transaction fell under the Backdoor Listing rule because the assets that ACEX acquired from ACEN are all power-generation assets, and ACEX itself is a gas and exploration company.
The rule applies when a transaction with an unlisted company results in “a substantial change in its business upon completion of the transaction”.
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ACEX has been on a huge run lately, climbing from around P15/share when Jose Mari Chan first started singing this year, until late December when the stock peaked at around ?41/share.
That’s a 173% increase in just four months. Volume has been high, perhaps aided by the hype coming from certain forums, but it will be interesting to see how this stock prices out once the company provides the comprehensive disclosure on how this acquisition will impact ACEX’s business going forward.
I don’t have a position in this stock, nor do I have an interest in the sector, and this is something that happened largely while I was completely away from my desk during vacation, so it’s something that I’m catching up on as a pure spectator. It’s interesting, but I’m definitely going to wait for the comprehensive disclosure to do a deeper dive into what this can mean going forward.
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