ACEN raises $400 million from green bonds

MANILA, Philippines — AC Energy Corp. (ACEN) has raised $400 million from the issuance of green bonds.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange yesterday, ACEN said its wholly owned unit ACEN Finance Ltd. successfully issued 3.5-year senior guaranteed undated fixed-for-life (non-deferrable) green bonds.

“We are delighted by the overwhelming support for ACEN’s green bond offering. This helps accelerate our aggressive renewables expansion and enables the green-led recovery,” ACEN president and CEO Eric Francia said.

Pricing for the bonds was at four percent, 45 basis points tighter than the initial price guidance, with no step-up and no reset.

ACEN said the final order book volume exceeded $2 billion – more than five times oversubscribed, attracting a wide range of high-quality investors.

The company’s CFO Cora Dizon said the green bonds “demonstrates strong investor confidence in the company’s strategic thrust to be a forerunner in the renewable energy sector and sustainable investing.”

Upon issuance, the net proceeds from the green bonds will be used to finance or refinance new or existing eligible green projects, in accordance with ACEN’s green bond framework (GBF).

The company’s GBF sets out well-defined guidelines for the use of proceeds for renewable energy (RE) projects – here or abroad – with comprehensive monitoring and reporting commitments.

The green bonds will be issued by ACEN Finance Ltd. under its $1.5 billion medium-term note program, which will be guaranteed by ACEN, and will be listed on the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading platform (SGX-ST).

BPI Capital Corp. is the sole global coordinator for the transaction, while BPI Capital Corp., Credit Suisse (Singapore) Limited, Deutsche Bank AG Singapore Branch, Goldman Sachs (Singapore) Pte., Morgan Stanley Asia (Singapore) Pte., and UBS AG Singapore Branch are the joint lead managers and joint bookrunners for the transaction, with the participation of China Bank Capital Corp., First Metro Investment Corp., PNB Capital and Investment Corp., and RCBC Capital Corp. as domestic lead managers.

ACEN, the energy platform of Ayala Corp., is one of the fastest growing energy companies with over $1 billion of invested and committed equity in renewable and thermal energy in the Philippines and around the region.