Ayala Corp.’s energy arm ACEN Corp. approved on Wednesday the acquisition of 500 million common SP New Energy Corp. (SPNEC) shares, making ACEN five-percent owner of the latter.
The shares in SPNEC form part of shares pledged to ACEN in 2021 in exchange for a P1 billion loan ACEN extended to Solar Philippines and its affiliate Provincia Investments Corp.
Solar Philippines is the parent company of SPNEC.
In a regulatory filing, ACEN said its executive committee approved the acquisition of 500 million shares in SPNEC as pre-payment for part of the loan to Solar Philippines and Provincia Investments, which had a repayment date of July 2, 2026.
As of January 24, SPNEC shares have a market value of P660 million.
ACEN and Solar Philippines signed agreements in January 2021 for a proposed joint venture on solar power in Central Luzon.
Related to this, ACEN and Solar Philippines and its affiliate Provincia Investments signed a P1-billion loan agreement secured by a pledge of shares owned by Solar Philippines in SPNEC.
SPNEC is part of Solar Philippines, which is a renewable energy company founded by young entrepreneur Leandro Leviste.
SPNEC looks to invest P10 billion to develop 10 gigawatts (GW) of solar projects by 2025.
These various projects include over 400 MW operating or under construction; the 3.5 GW solar, 4.5 GWh battery Terra Solar project; the 1.8 GW solar, 1.8 GWh battery Batangas Baseload project; and 1.8 GW of projects contracted under the Department of Energy’s Green Energy Auction.
With its Nueva Ecija solar project, these could potentially bring SPNEC’s contracted capacity to 8 GW scheduled to commence operations between 2025 to 2026, around two-third of the total contracted renewable energy capacity of the Philippines.
SPNEC, which made its debut in the stock market last year, ultimately aims to accelerate the adoption of solar energy in the Philippines and become a major player in the country’s pivot toward renewable power sources.
