Ayala buys Marubeni stake in South Luzon Thermal Energy Corp.

MANILA,Philippines — The Ayala Group is acquiring the stake of Japan’s Marubeni Corp. in South Luzon Thermal Energy Corp. (SLTEC) to further boost the cash flow of AC Energy Philippines Inc. (formerly Phinma Energy Corp.).

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange yesterday, AC Energy Philippines said it signed a deed of assignment with parent firm AC Energy Inc. (ACEI).

The deed of assignment transfers ACEI’s rights to purchase the 20 percent ownership stake of Marubeni’s Axia Power Holdings Philippines Inc. in SLTEC.

“Completion of the company’s acquisition of Axia Power’s ownership stake in SLTEC is subject to satisfaction of certain conditions precedent,” AC Energy Philippines said.

ACEI earlier consolidated its key operating and developmental assets in AC Energy Philippines.

The Ayala Group acquired Phinma Energy from the Del Rosario family for P6.3 billion.  This increased ACEI’s attributable generation capacity by 240 MW.

Among those consolidated in AC Energy Philippines is SLTEC, which owns and operates a 2x135-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant in Calaca, Batangas.

ACEI and AC Energy Philippines president and chief executive officer Eric Francia said consolidating the ownership of SLTEC would enable the newly renamed company to withstand market volatilities and compete for the long term.