San Miguel power unit eyes $300 million via bond issuance

MANILA, Philippines — San Miguel Global Power Holdings Corp. (SMGP) of business titan Ramon Ang is returning to the offshore bond market to raise up to $300 million to finance solar energy projects.

SMGP told the Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp. that its board of directors approved the issuance of US dollar-denominated senior perpetual capital securities.

The offering, which will be listed on the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Ltd., is still subject to “prevailing market conditions and as may be advantageous to the corporation,” it noted.

The proceeds of the fund raising activity will be used to bankroll the pre-development costs of SMGP’s solar energy projects.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the net proceeds will not be applied to finance any of the company’s existing and planned coal-fired power assets,” the energy firm said.

SMGP has tapped Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd., DBS Bank Ltd., Mizuho Securities Asia Ltd. and Standard Chartered Bank as joint lead managers.

DB Trustees (Hong Kong) Ltd., meanwhile, will serve as the transaction’s trustee, with Latham and Watkins as the listing agent and Deutsche Bank AG, Hong Kong branch as the registrar and paying, calculation and transfer agent.

The SMGP board has likewise authorized the management to determine the terms and conditions of the offer, including, but not limited to, the determination of the distribution rate of the securities and the timing of the offer.

The energy firm has yet to disclose the timeline for the planned offer.

SMGP successfully raised an aggregate of $1.22 billion from the issuance of senior perpetual capital securities in November 2019 and October 2020.

The company, together with its subsidiaries, associates and joint ventures, had a combined capacity of 5,207 megawatts as of end-June.

It currently boasts a diversified power portfolio, which includes natural gas, coal, renewable energy such as hydroelectric power and battery energy storage systems.