Conglomerate San Miguel Corp. received an offer to acquire the stake of AC Energy Holdings Inc. in the 552-megawatt Kauswagan coal project in Mindanao.
“Yes, it was offered to us,” San Miguel president Ramon Ang told reporters at a recent business forum. He did not elaborate.
San Miguel is one of the country’s biggest power generators. It has been expanding its power generation portfolio following its acquisition of the stakes of Electricity Generating Public Company Ltd., or Egco Group, and AES Corp. in Masinloc Power Partners Co. Ltd. for $2 billion last year.
The sale included AES’ equity interest in the 630-megawatt Masinloc coal-fired power plant, the 335-MW Masinloc 2 coal-fired power plant under construction and the 10-MW Masinloc energy storage project in operation.
Meanwhile, AC Energy owns an 85-percent economic stake in GNPower Kauswagan in partnership with the Philippine Investment Alliance for Infrastructure Fund and Power Partners.
The construction of the plant is in full swing and is expected to be in commercial operation by 2019. The 552-MW plant will operate as a base load plant to support the power demand and economic development of Mindanao.
The plant is a 4 x 138 MW pulverized coal combustion thermal plant with Shanghai boilers and Siemens turbines and generators.
AC Energy originally wanted to sell up to 50 percent of its 1,300-MW coal platform but Aboitiz Power Corp. acquired just 500 MW of capacity. This means AC Energy can still sell up to 150 MW of coal capacity if it wants to achieve its original 50-percent coal thermal asset sale.
AC Energy officials were unavailable for comment as of press time.
Aboitiz Power earlier announced its acquisition of a 49-percent voting stake and 60-percent economic stake in AA Thermal Inc.., Ayala Group’s thermal or coal asset platform in the country for $579.2 million (P31.4 billion).
Aboitiz Power and Arlington Mariveles Netherlands Holding B.V., an affiliate of AC Energy, the power unit of Ayala Corp., signed a share purchase agreement on September 26 for the acquisition.