AC Energy sells Chevron assets to Sy Group
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MANILA, Philippines - AC Energy Holdings Inc. and its partner have relinquished the rights over the Philippine component of Chevron’s geothermal assets to the Sy-owned SM Group.
AC Energy and Star Energy Geothermal Holdings Pte. Ltd. entered into definitive agreements for the transfer of 99 percent of their consortium interests in ACEHI-STAR Holdings Inc. to AllFirst Equity Holdings Inc., the SM Group’s private firm.
AllFirst is Chevron’s current partner, and directly holds 60-percent ownership interest in Philippine Geothermal Production Co. (PGPC).
Sought for comment, Regina Capital Development Corp. president Marita Limlingan said AC Energy was looking to dispose of some units previously.
“The energy portfolio was supposed to be the added boost in the income contribution but it’s a small segment as of now,” she said.
In December 2016, ACEHI-STAR was formed to acquire Chevron’s Philippine geothermal assets subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions precedent, including the approval of the Philippine Competition Commission.
It was supposed to have a 40 percent equity interest in PGPC, which operates the Tiwi and Mak-Ban geothermal field in Southern Luzon and supplies steam to two power plants – the 289-megawatt Tiwi plants in Albay and the 458-MW Mak-Ban facilities in Laguna and Batangas owned and operated by the Aboitiz Group.
But the SM Group has the right of first refusal since it holds the majority equity of 60-percent in PGPC.
Credit Suisse acted as the sole financial advisor to the consortium of AC Energy and Star Energy Holdings for the transaction.
Last April, AC Energy and its partners, Star Energy Group Holdings Pte. Ltd., Star Energy Geothermal Pte. Ltd. and Electricity Generating Public Co. Ltd., closed the deal for the Indonesian geothermal asset of Chevron.
These were acquired through Star Energy Geothermal (Salak-Darajat) B.V., the joint venture firm of AC Energy (with 19.8 percent economic stake), Star Energy Group Holdings Pte. Ltd., Star Energy Geothermal Pte. Ltd. and Electricity Generating Public Co. Ltd.
“The Indonesia geothermal investment is a major milestone for AC Energy. It is our largest investment in renewables to date, and solidifies our entry in Indonesia,” AC Energy president and CEO John Eric Francia said earlier.
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