Axia Power Holdings Philippines, a subsidiary of Japanese firm Marubeni Corporation has sealed a deal with ACE Endevor, Inc., a subsidiary of AC Energy, to acquire a 50% stake in the Ayala group’s 150-megawatt (MW) diesel power plant project in Pililla, Rizal.
The deal was negotiated since 2019 and the proposed partnership was announced last July.
“Under the agreement, Axia will acquire 50% of the shares and 50% economic rights in the company’s subsidiary Ingrid Power Holdings (Ingrid),” AC Energy said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange.
Ingrid is the special purpose vehicle that is fast-tracking the diesel plant’s development by the shore of Laguna De Bay close to the existing Malaya Thermal Power Plant, which the government has been trying to sell.
AC Energy will hold the other 50% of shares in Ingrid and 45% economic rights, while ACE Endevor will have a five percent share of the economic rights in the project’s corporate vehicle.
The Ayala firm added it already infused Php570 million investment into the power venture. The goal is to eventually increase the diesel plant’s capacity to 300MW by building a second unit of the same 150MW capacity. The project’s indicative cost for the two generating units was pegged at Php1.5 billion.
AC Energy further indicated in the disclosure that it already received the Philippine Competition Commission’s approval of the joint venture.
The diesel plant aims to provide the needs for ancillary services power supply of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines and will also supply both peaking and reserve power to the Luzon grid.
Besides the Rizal plant, AC Energy has plans to build other diesel plants in Bataan and Batangas with a combined capacity of 550MW.
