AC Energy prices follow-on offering at P6.50 per share

The executive committee of Ayala-owned AC Energy Corp. priced its follow-on offering at P6.50 per share.

“The FOO is subject to compliance by the company with all the conditions prescribed by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Philippine Stock Exchange,” AC Energy said Thursday.

It received an approval from the Philippine Stock Exchange to list 1.58 billion common shares with a price range of P6 to P8.20 apiece.

The details of the offer include the primary offering of 1.58 billion common shares and secondary offering of 330,248,617 common shares and over-subscription option for another 100,000,000 common shares.

The company said that once the over-subscription option was fully exercised, it would have a public float of 27.84 percent. 

AC Energy plans to use the net proceeds from the follow-on offering to fund the development of power projects, inorganic growth opportunities, repayment of loans and reduction of payables and other general corporate requirements.

It will conduct the public offering from May 3 to 7 and list the shares on the Philippine Stock Exchange on May 14.

The power generation firm also raised nearly P5.4 billion through a stock rights offering in January.

AC Energy engaged BPI Capital Corp. as the sole global coordinator, underwriter and joint bookrunner for the offering.

CLSA and UBS will serve as international joint bookrunners and joint bookrunners together with BPI Capital.

ACEN closed 2020 with a record P3.75 billion in net income as it improved operating efficiencies and reliability. Plant availability increased by 29 percentage points for its thermal assets.

 ACEN also raised operating margins, driven by the ability to secure longer-term contracts that provide more stable cash flows.

The company’s agile energy portfolio allowed the strategic sourcing of competitively priced electricity and fuel to help improve margins.

ACEN successfully completed the acquisition of additional stakes in three renewable projects in early 2020, including the North Luzon Renewables wind farm in Ilocos Norte and the Sacasol and Islasol solar farms in Negros Occidental.

These acquisitions, with a total investment of P7.4 billion, were earnings accretive given the operational status of the power plants.