Ayala energy subsidiary raises P5.37 B from stock rights offer

Published January 30, 2021, 5:30 AM by Myrna M. Velasco
https://mb.com.ph/2021/01/30/ayala-energy-subsidiary-raises-p5-37-b-from-stock-rights-offer/

The aggregate 2,267,580, 434 common shares tendered by Ayala-led AC Energy Corporation (ACEN) via its stock rights offering (SRO) had been fully subscribed and had fetched proceeds of more than P5.37 billion.

During the formal listing of ACEN’s stock rights offer at the local bourse, Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) President and Chief Executive Officer Ramon S. Monzon noted that on the targeted dilution of the company’s shares, “AC Energy purposely did not participate in the SRO in order to provide the minority shareholders maximum availability of rights shares which were also priced at P2.37 per share.”’

He qualified that “with such an attractive price, it’s no wonder that ACEN’s minority shareholders took up all the rights offered to them. And I’m sure they did not regret it.”

The PSE chief executive added the funds raised from ACEN’s rights offering would be able to bankroll at least four solar projects in Luzon; and a wind project that is at renewable energy laboratory.

“The demand for this SRO speaks of the confidence in ACEN’s vision and strategic direction — part of that vision is to increase the company’s energy capacity for renewables to 5,000MW by 2025,” Monzon asserted; further citing that the Ayala energy company ranked 9th in terms of regular market value turnover as reckoned from November last year.

He stated “ACEN shareholders have done very well considering a stock price adjusted for the SRO has appreciated by 80.2% from November to yesterday.”

For his part, AC Energy Chairman Fernando Zobel de Ayala, indicated that the P5.37 billion proceeds from the SRO will further build up the company’s cash hoard that shall be funneled to blueprinted expansion projects, not just in the Philippines but across the Asian region – primarily in the offshore markets of Australia, Indonesia, Vietnam, India and Myanmar.

Additionally, he said the targeted shoring up of the conglomerate’s renewable energy capacity will cement its vision to become the largest RE-listed company in the Southeast Asian region.

Zobel chronicled that since last year, ACEN “raised P2.63 billion through issuance of primary shares to parent AC Energy; and followed this up with an infusion of power generation assets through an asset-for-share swap.” Then the next round of its cash raising activity had been the SRO.

“The tripling of ACEN’s balance sheet would pave the way for rapid expansion of its renewables business across the region; while also allowing us to make more sustainable investments that are certainly needed and welcomed during these challenging times,” Zobel stressed.

Onward, he emphasized that the next exciting development for the company is “the forthcoming integration of AC Energy’s international assets to a unified platform under ACEN.”

With that strategy, Zobel noted “this would put us in an excellent position to reach our goal of 5,000 megawatts of renewables capacity by 2025; and be Southeast Asia’s largest listed renewables platform.”