ACEN gets SPNEC shares in loan deal

MANILA, Philippines — The Ayala Group’s listed energy platform ACEN Corp. is getting shares in listed SP New Energy Corp. (SPNEC) of Leandro Leviste as part of an omnibus loan and security agreement signed in 2021.

ACEN, in a stock exchange filing, said it signed definitive agreements for the transaction with Solar Philippines Power Project Holdings Inc. and Provincia Investments Corp. (PIC), a Solar Philippines affiliate.

This comes after ACEN’s executive committee approved the execution of definitive agreements wherein the company will receive from Solar Philippines 500 million shares in SPNEC.

SPNEC is a listed company which is an affiliate of Solar Philippines.

The shares to be received by ACEN serve as pre-payment for part of the loan’s principal, as well as payment of interest and arrangement and security amendment fees in consideration for the company releasing its pledge over shares owned by Solar Philippines in SPNEC.

ACEN said its executive committee has delegated the authority to approve the final terms and conditions of the definitive agreements to the company’s president, Eric Francia.

In June 2021, ACEN   announced the signing of a P1-billion omnibus loan and security agreement with PIC as the borrower and Solar Philippines  as the sponsor for the financing of the various acquisitions of project sites for solar power projects.

Early that year, ACEN and Solar Philippines entered into agreements for a proposed joint venture for solar power plant projects in Central Luzon.

Pursuant to this, ACEN disclosed that it signed an omnibus loan and security agreement with PIC for a loan with a repayment date of July 2, 2026 secured by a pledge over shares owned by Solar Philippines in SPNEC, formerly Solar Philippines Nueva Ecija Corp.

SPNEC is a renewable energy power generation company that debuted in the Philippine Stock Exchange in December 2021.

The company was earlier looking into completing the development of 10 gigawatts (GW) of solar projects by 2025.

SPNEC is also targeting to convert over 3,000 hectares of land in Nueva Ecija and Bulacan for industrial use this year.

At over 3,000 hectares, SPNEC said its landbank in Nueva Ecija and Bulacan, upon its completion, would be one of the largest industrial developments of any kind in the Philippines and larger than all the solar projects operating in the country to date combined.

ACEN, the listed energy platform of the Ayala Group, meanwhile, is committed to 100 percent renewables generation by 2025, as well as reaching its ambitious goal of 20 GW of renewables capacity by 2030.

The company has about 4,000 MW of attributable capacity in the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, India, and Australia, with a renewable share of 87 percent, which is among the highest in the region.