Ayala Corp. buys stake in coal plant

Business Mirror

Published on Monday, 17 December 2012 21:31

Written by Miguel R. Camus / Reporter

Conglomerate Ayala Corp. has sealed its latest power deal, disclosing on Monday that it is buying a 17.1-percent stake in GNP Power Mariveles Coal Plant Ltd. Co., which owns a 600-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant in Bataan, north of Manila.

Ayala said in a Philippine Stock Exchange filing that it will pay $155 million to acquire the interest in the power plant held by an affiliate of a fund advised by Denham Capital. The power plant is “currently undergoing commissioning,” the statement showed.

Ayala will keep the investment under wholly owned subsidiary AC Energy Holdings Inc., through which the conglomerate owns a growing range of power assets for both traditional and renewable energy sources.

“The Mariveles Power Plant is a major capacity addition that is critical to alleviating potential power shortages in the Luzon grid. It is utilizing pulverized-coal technology designed to meet global standards and contributes to Ayala’s goal of providing low-cost electricity to the country,” John Eric Francia, Ayala managing director,
said in the statement.

Ayala has been ramping up its power investments in a bid to widen its presence and compete with larger power players like the Lopez-led First Philippine Holdings, Aboitiz Power Corp. and San Miguel Corp.

Ayala announced last year that it was assembling a 1,000-MW power generation portfolio in five years and it has since been pursuing acquisitions or partnerships to expand the business.

With its entry into GNP Power, it joins other “sponsors” of the power plant, namely, Power Partners Ltd. Co. and Sithe Global Power Llc., a company owned by investors of The Blackstone Group, the statement showed.

“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,” Fernando Zobel de Ayala, Ayala president and CEO, said in the same statement.

Ayala also has joint-venture deals for a 135-MW coal power plant with Trans-Asia Oil and Energy Development Corp. in Batangas province and another 135-MW coal power plant in Iloilo province, this time with A. Brown Co and Jin Navitas Resource Inc., a firm led by the Ng family behind Rebisco Biscuit.

Ayala has also taken various partners for investments in wind, solar and mini-hydropower projects across the Philippines.

Ayala shares rose 0.41 percent to P495 per share, giving it a market value of P233.8 billion on Monday’s close. With Paul Isla  source