Ayala buys into Mariveles power plant

By Zinnia B. Dela Peña (The Philippine Star) | Updated December 18, 2012 - 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines - Conglomerate Ayala Corp. continues on a buying binge with the  acquisition of a 17.1 percent stake in a firm that owns a 600-megawatt coal-fired power plant in Mariveles, Bataan for $155 million.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange yesterday, Ayala said it  has bought into GNPower Mariveles Coal Plant Ltd. Co. (GMCP), whose Mariveles plant is undergoing commissioning.  The investment will be made by wholly-owned energy unit AC Energy Holdings Inc.

Ayala acquired the stake from an affiliate of a fund advised by Denham Capital.

John Eric T. Francia, Ayala managing director and AC Energy president, said the  plant  is a “major capacity addition that is critical to alleviating potential power shortages in the Luzon grid and providing low-cost electricity to the country.”

For his part, Ayala president and COO Fernando Zobel de Ayala said: “We are pleased with the addition of the Mariveles power plant to Ayala’s growing portfolio of energy projects.  We are delighted to be working with Sithe Global Power and Power Partners in this endeavor.  Our investment reflects the Ayala Group’s support for the energy and infrastructure needs of our country and our confidence in its bright growth prospects.”

Sithe Global, a company owned by investors of the BlackStone Group, and project developer power partners, are the other sponsors of the Mariveles power plant.

JP Morgan was Ayala’s financial adviser to the transaction.

Ayala is in a phase of active investment in the power and infrastructure sectors, which it deems critical for the country’s growth and development.

The conglomerate  aims to build a portfolio of 1,000 MW of power capacity over five years.  It earmarked around $100 million on approximately 180 MW of capacity across thermal, wind, hydro and solar technologies.

The group began construction of a 135-MW coal-fired thermal plant in Calaca, Batangas in partnership with the Phinma Group’s Trans-Asia Oil and Development Corp. It is also currently working on a possible second phase of expansion of the plant.

AC Energy, in partnership with A.Brown Co. Inc. and Rebisco, are jointly building a 135-MW power generation plant in the province of Iloilo, estimated to cost around P12.5 billion.    source