MANILA, Philippines — Ayala Corp., the country’s oldest conglomerate, continues to embark on a global expansion spree, acquiring a controlling stake in California-headquartered Merlin Solar Technologies Inc.
This was done through its wholly owned subsidiary AC Industrial Technology Holdings Inc.’s ACI Solar Holdings NA, which had previously made a minority investment in Merlin in 2016.
With the latest transaction, AC Industrials will have an ownership interest of 78.2 percent in Merlin, an emerging company that develops alternative solar solutions to create products with high durability, flexibility, and increased solar power output.
Ayala Corp and AC Industrials chairman Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala said Merlin would complement the conglomerate’s businesses such as AC Energy’s renewable energy generation.
The move is also consistent with Ayala Corp.’s strategy of investing in disruptive technologies, he said.
“At Ayala, we believe that the future will be shaped by the innovation we are seeing today. We are excited to have the opportunity to add Merlin’s solar technology to our portfolio. The proprietary solar solutions that Merlin brings to the table are key to AC Industrials’ strategy of working on disruptive technologies, and aligns with the Ayala group’s drive to invest in emerging, innovative spaces, such as in e-commerce and fintech,” Zobel said.
Headquartered in San Jose, California, Merlin currently has additional manufacturing facilities in Thailand.
Moving forward, Merlin shall also be establishing a manufacturing presence in the Philippines through AC Industrials Integrated Microelectronics Inc. (IMI).
“This investment forms part of Ayala’s strategy, through AC Industrials, to boost its presence in the global and domestic industrial technologies spaces by capitalizing on opportunities arising from disruptive technological shifts, changing industry landscapes, and increasing demand from end-users,” the conglomerate said.
AC Industrials has actively built a portfolio of businesses in industrial technologies including various platforms in electronics manufacturing, vehicle assembly, vehicle retail and distribution, and emerging technologies.
AC Industrials CEO Arthur Tan, for his part, said the acquisition of Merlin forms part of AC Industrials’ strategy to own, develop, and commercialize disruptive technologies in rapidly-transforming industries.
“Merlin’s patent and IP portfolio allows a differentiated value proposition in solar which, when combined with AC Industrial’s core strength of providing manufacturing scale through IMI’s global platform, will provide AC Industrials with the opportunity to disrupt the solar energy industry,“ Tan said.