AC Energy Corporation (ACEN) has completed its follow-on offering (FOO), in which it has raised Php13.1 billion to fund its renewable energy projects this year.
A total of 2.01 billion shares were offered at Php6.50 each during the FOO, which was conducted from May 3-7. The two billion shares sold comprised of “[1.58 billion] shares sold pursuant to the primary offer, 330 million shares sold by AC Energy and Infrastructure Corporation (ACEIC) and Bulacan Power Generation Corporation pursuant to a secondary offer, and an over-subscription of 100 million secondary shares sold by ACEIC.”
The primary shares were listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) on Friday, bringing ACEN’s total outstanding shares to 21.54 billion, with a market capitalization of over Php150 billion.
About 80% of the base offer shares was offered to qualified institutional buyers, while the remaining 20 percent was placed out to the trading public via the PSE.
ACEN said the FOO was significantly oversubscribed, driven by the institutional tranche, as high-quality domestic and international institutional investors locked-in demand for the Ayalas’ power arm. The offer also saw a significant participation from PSE trading participants and retail investors.
“We are delighted with the results of the follow-on-offering — a strong vote of confidence in AC Energy’s strategy to rapidly expand its renewables business across the region. With a much stronger balance sheet, AC Energy is in an excellent position to roll out the much needed investments in renewable projects and help accelerate the green-led recovery,” AC Energy Chairman Fernando Zobel De Ayala said in a statement.
The FOO is the latest of ACEN’s capital raising activities for the year to fund its target of 5,000 megawatts of renewable energy capacity by 2025. The company has raised ₱27.5 billion of fresh capital this year, consisting of the Php5.37 billion stock rights offering last January, the Php11.88 billion private placement by GIC affiliate Arran Investment last March, and the Php10.3 billion raised from primary shares in the FOO. ACEN President and CEO Eric Francia earlier said the company aims to raise Php30 billion for its projects in 2021.
“We are very pleased with ACEN’s strong first quarter performance, which was driven by value accretive acquisitions and improved operating margins. We expect the growth momentum to continue with our aggressive and sustained expansion in the renewables space,” Francia said.
