ACEN completes preferred shares offering

MANILA, Philippines — ACEN Corp. has completed the largest preferred shares offering in the country since 2016, raising P25 billion from its maiden preferred shares issuance following strong demand from both institutional and retail investors.

ACEN chief finance officer Cora Dizon said the issuance forms part of the company’s strategy to diversify its sources of funding and gain access to a wider base of investors.

“Being the first of its kind in the Philippines with the fixed-for-life feature, we are delighted with the strong investor response, which is a testament to the strong alignment with ACEN’s sustainability focus and growth aspirations,” Dizon said.

ACEN said the shares were met with strong demand from both institutional and retail investors, allowing the company to fully exercise its oversubscription option of up to P12.5 billion on top of the base offer of P12.5 billion.

“We are very thankful for the exceptional support that we received from investors. The additional capital further strengthens the company’s balance sheet and helps us accelerate our renewables expansion,” ACEN president and CEO Eric Francia said.

Proceeds from the issuance will be used by the company for the financing of new or existing eligible green projects, including the refinancing of short-term bridge loans for eligible green projects.

ACEN said the amount raised could also enable more than one gigawatt (GW) of renewable energy projects in the Philippines.

The shares were publicly offered from Aug. 11 to 23, and were listed on the main board of the Philippine Stock Exchange on Sept. 1, 2023.

The Series A preferred shares carry an initial dividend rate of 7.1330 percent per annum, with a dividend rate re-setting on the fifth anniversary of the listing date.

The Series B preferred shares, on the other hand, has a fixed dividend rate of eight percent per annum with no dividend rate re-setting, making it the first Philippine peso-denominated fixed-for-life equity instrument listed on the PSE.

ACEN said the company will have the option to redeem in whole the Series A and Series B preferred shares starting on the third and seventh anniversary of the listing date, respectively, and on every dividend payment date thereafter.

The offer serves as the first tranche under ACEN’s shelf registration of up to 50 million preferred shares.

ACEN, the listed energy platform of the Ayala group, aims to be the largest listed renewables platform in Southeast Asia, with a goal of reaching 20 GW of renewables capacity by 2030.

The company has about 4,500 megawatts of attributable capacity from owned facilities in the Philippines, Australia, Vietnam, Indonesia and India, with a renewable share of 98 percent.