Angat plant sale finally closing

Manila Bulletin 
By Myrna M. Velasco 
Published: September 2, 2013 
With the formal issuance of the certificate of effectivity (COE) this Monday (September 2), the privatized 218-megawatt Angat hydropower facility will finally reach successful closing.
Seller Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM) will serve the COE to winning bidder Korea Water Resources Corporation (K-Water) at simple rites to be held at a hotel in Makati City, sources have disclosed.
K-Water reportedly committed to the Philippine government that it will pay its purchase offer of $440.88 million in full.
The acquiring firm will have at least a month from the COE issuance to fulfill its payment commitments, which will then lead to the turnover of the Angat facility.
It was indicated that the Angat transaction will be closed “without conditions”, as has been the wish of Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla when he met with K-Water officials in South Korea last June.
That has been a reversal of position from K-Water’s earlier bids to have the purchase price reduced and for the inclusion of the 28MW auxiliary units of the Angat hydropower facility into the package.
The Angat plant’s total capacity stands at 246MW, but auxiliary units 4 and 5 are owned by the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS), hence, these were excluded in the asset sale process undertaken by PSALM.
Prior to closing date, K-Water has negotiated with San Miguel Corporation for a partnership in the special purpose company (SPC) that will operate and manage the privatized Angat facility.
Their negotiations ended in the signing of a memorandum of agreement (MOA) last August 23, but with some pending issues yet to be sorted out. San Miguel itself noted in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) that a definitive agreement is not yet in place.
Tapping San Miguel for a tie-up  will also be part of K-Water’s compliance to a Philippine Constitution mandate that the exploitation and development of natural resources shall be limited to entities with Filipino firms’ tie-up, with the latter at least having 60-percent ownership in the corporate vehicle.
After takeover of the Angat asset, K-Water will be pursuing much-needed rehabilitation for the facility so it can bring its generation efficiencies higher.   source