Philippines' Ayala Unit Raising $530 Million To Boost Renewable Energy Capacity
An ACEN solar farm in Zambales, north of Manila.
Courtesy of ACEN
ACEN—controlled by billionaire Jaime Zobel de Ayala and his family's Ayala Corp—is raising up to 30 billion pesos ($530 million) to build new solar and wind farms and almost triple its renewable energy capacity to 20 gigawatts by 2030.
To raise the fresh capital, the Manila-listed company plans to sell shares to existing shareholders at 2.30 pesos each, which is about an 18% discount from ACEN's closing price on Tuesday, before the proposed share-sale was approved by the board. The shares dropped 7.9% to close at 2.58 pesos on Wednesday.
The latest capital call, the fifth since ACEN started in 2019, could be the last common equity call at the parent level, Eric Francia, president of ACEN said. 'It's hard to say never but hopefully this capital call would last us for the rest of the decade,' Francia told Forbes Asia on the sidelines of the company's media briefing.
The funding will support ACEN's capacity growth of between 15% and 20% per annum in the next five years, Francia said. The company currently has 7GW of renewable energy capacity, primarily across Australia, India, the Philippines and Vietnam
ACEN aims to complete its stock rights offering by September, chief financial officer Jonathan Back said, adding part of the proceeds will be used to pay debt. Going forward, potential partners can invest in specific projects being undertaken by ACEN subsidiaries, giving the company more flexibility in raising capital, according to Back.
ACEN will focus future expansion projects in the Philippines, India, Australia and Laos/Vietnam as the company already has a sizable presence in these markets. The company is slated to complete this year some of its mega projects, including the 600MW Monsoon wind farm in Laos and the 520MW Stubbo solar project in Australia. Within the next 12 months, it will start building another 1GW of new projects.
Since 2019, when Ayala Corp.'s AC Energy bought Phinma Energy and turned it into ACEN, its capacity has grown by an average of 20% to 25% annually through 2024, according to Francia. Arran Investment, a firm affiliated with Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC, owns 17% of ACEN. Both shareholders have committed to subscribe to the stock rights offering, according to Back.
Ayala Corp. is the country's oldest conglomerate that was started by the grandfather of Jaime Zobel de Ayala, the family patriarch, in 1834 as a distillery. Today, the Manila-listed company has expanded into banking, energy, healthcare, utilities and real estate. With a net worth of $2.6 billion, the family is among the richest in the Philippines.
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