Marubeni, Tokyo Electric seek financing for purchase of Mirant’s assets

Marubeni Corp. and Tokyo Electric Power Corp. (Tepco), the winning bidders for Mirant Corp.’s assets in the Philippines, are reportedly working out a financing scheme with Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and a consortium of Japanese banks, a ranking company official said.

Federico Puno, president of Marubeni Philippines Corp., said, however, that they have yet to determine how much will be borrowed from JBIC.

"We still have to determine how much we could borrow from JBIC but of course we want to maximize it as JBIC offers a lower (interest) rate," Puno said. 

He said they opted for a Japanese funding facility although there is an existing financing package being made available for the winning bidder of the Mirant Philippines assets.

"A financing scheme is available for all bidders. We opted not to exercise this and get JBIC financing instead," he said.

He said they would have to make a one-time payment for the Mirant assets so they would need to raise the entire amount soon.

The turnover of the Mirant assets is expected to be carried out by the middle of this year after the Sual power plants (part of the Mirant assets that were sold to the group) go online in May or June.

Puno said Marubeni and Tepco will jointly own the Mirant assets. "We have decided to make it a 50-50 ownership structure," he said.

On the consent that the group has to secure from the National Government, Puno said they have yet to decide if they would secure it on or before the sale is consummated.

"We have yet to know if we will have to secure the consent before or after (the sale) process," he said. 

But sources said with the track records of Marubeni and Tepco, they would not have a problem securing the consent from the Philippine government on the transfer of ownership of Mirant.

This observation was somewhat confirmed by the Department of Energy (DOE).

The Philippine government had earlier asked Mirant to seek prior consent before selling the assets to ensure that the new buyers would be able to run the plant efficiently.

Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla, however, acknowledged that the entry of the Tepco-Marubeni in Mirant Philippines is a welcome development. The group bought the Mirant assets for $3.4 billion.

"We welcome the confidence shown in the Philippines by well-known and highly experienced Japanese energy companies through their purchase of Mirant’s power businesses in Luzon . The country undoubtedly had gained through the entry of a set of internationally recognized participants in the Philippine energy sector," Lotilla said. 

The energy chief said they hope that the new owners of the Mirant power plants would be able to run the assets efficiently.

"While the sale is essentially a private business transaction, we are confident that the Japanese consortium is financially and technically qualified to perform its contractual obligations to the National Power Corp (Napocor)," he said.

He said this early, the Tepco-Marubeni consortium has also indicated plans to expand the capacity of the power facilities of Mirant Philippines.

"The group has expressed its commitment to the expansion of its power generation assets in the Philippines , thus helping ensure adequate power supply for the future," he said.

Lotilla said Marubeni is an old hand in the Philippines and has been doing business here since 1909.

"Marubeni’s expansion is as most welcome as the new entry of Tepco in the power sector. Marubeni owns stakes in several power generation companies while Tepco is a well established energy company in Japan," he said. 

The energy chief said the buyers of Mirant assets have expressed their commitment to continue their social development program for the country.

"In the same manner that Mirant had shown its commitment to the President’s rural electrification program, the government also anticipates that the new owner will continue and deepen this social commitment to help improve the economy in the rural areas," he added.

The assets of Mirant Philippines include the 1,218-megawatt coal fired power plant in Sual, Pangasinan; 735-megawatt coal fired power plant in Pagbilao, Quezon; and a 20 percent stake in the Ilijan, Batangas natural gas facility.