ACEN infuses fresh P12 million capital to Paddak Energy

MANILA, Philippines —  Ayala-led ACEN Corp. is injecting a multimillion-peso investment into its subsidiary Paddak Energy Corp. to bolster the latter’s operations in the Philippines.

In a regulatory filing yesterday, ACEN said it signed a contract with Paddak Energy for its subscription to 1.2 million common shares and 10.8 million preferred shares of Paddak Energy at a par value of P1 apiece.

Paddak Energy is ACEN’s designated company for providing technical operations and maintenance-related services to the group’s operating companies in the country.

The subscription worth P12 million would enable the Ayala Group’s listed energy platform to have full ownership of Paddak Energy.

The shares subject to the transaction represent 75 percent of the total outstanding shares of Paddak Energy and will be issued out of the unissued portion of the subsidiary’s authorized capital stock.

This latest deal forms part of ACEN’s goal of becoming the leading listed renewables platform in Southeast Asia by strengthening its footprint in the Philippines and in other markets where the company operates.

ACEN, through affiliate ACEN Vietnam Investments Pte. Ltd., earlier inked a $70.5-million share purchase agreement with Huntington Renewable Investments Ltd. to acquire 49 percent of Vietnam’s BIM Energy.

BIM Energy is a subsidiary of the BIM Group, a Vietnamese conglomerate engaged in renewable energy, real estate development, agriculture and food, and consumer services.

This acquisition is expected to bolster the operation and growth of ACEN’s existing projects in Vietnam, including the 405-megawatt Ninh Thuan Solar project, said to be one of the largest solar farms in the region.

Currently, ACEN has a global generation portfolio of around 6.8 gigawatts, consisting of over three GW in fully operational assets, 2.3 GW in projects under construction and 1.4 GW worth of committed projects.

This aggressive expansion, according to ACEN president and CEO Eric Francia, is aligned with the “strong momentum” behind the energy transition in Southeast Asia.

“The company continues to focus on execution, especially for projects in construction and under development,” Francia added.

Over the next six years, ACEN plans to raise about $15 billion in fresh capital as part of efforts to quadruple its attributable renewable capacity to 20 GW.