Ayala Corp’s AC Energy will split into two wholly-owned subsidiaries for renewable energy and thermal energy to be more flexible in expanding project portfolios.
In a disclosure, the Ayala holding company said that its board gave the go-signal to form two wholly-owned platforms: AC Renewables, and ACE Thermal Inc.
“AC Energy has scaled up rapidly over the last five years, and we believe that having these two exciting platforms will enable focused strategies and accelerate our growth,” AC Energy chairman Fernando Zobel de Ayala said.
Ayala will transfer all renewable assets under AC Renewables in its restructuring program, while the existing thermal holdings will be renamed to ACE Thermal.
AC Energy will become its umbrella brand for its energy group of companies.
“In terms of our architecture, we will retain the AC Energy, referring to the energy business group. Strictly speaking, there’s no holding company anymore for all our assets,” AC Energy CEO John Eric Francia said.
“We recognize that renewables and conventional power are two distinct businesses that attract different types of investors. This move therefore provides AC Energy a sharper proposition and greater flexibility in the event that we broaden our investor base for our platforms,” he added.
Previously, AC targeted to double its attributable capacity to 2,000 megawatts (MW) to close the gap between fossil fuel and RE.
But this will no longer be communicated and new targets will be set separately.
“For renewables, the 1,000 MW target, that stays. For thermal, we’re already at 1.3 GW… so we are now in the process of updating our business plan for the thermal side. We still have plans of growing it,” Francia said.
AC Energy currently has 1.3 gigawatts (GW) of conventional power and about 300 MW of renewable energy projects.