Ayala-led ACEN said that it plans to meet the 20% minimum public float requirement of the Philippine Stock Exchange Composite Index (PSEi) next year after the series of investments in the company, as well as its own acquisitions this year.
Following the buyout of its joint ventures with UPC Renewables in Australia and the Philippines, the company’s public float or public ownership is currently at 18.73%, ACEN President and CEO Eric Francia said during the firm’s special stockholders meeting on Wednesday. ACEN’s public float stood at 15.9% prior to the UPC buyouts.
Aware of the PSEi’s new minimum public float requirement, Francia said that “[we] do have some time to plan for this.”
Back in August, the PSE raised the mininum public float for the 30-company PSEi from the current 15% to 20% by December 2022. ACEN joined the PSEi, also in August.
“We have no imminent plan, but will be addressed sooner than later,” he added.
Francia also said that the UPC buyouts caused minimal dilution. For one, Singaporean sovereign fund GIC Private Limited’s ownership in ACEN slightly decreased to 16.8% from 17.5% at the time of its private placement last March.
With a goal of attaining a 5,000-megawatt all-renewable energy (RE) portfolio by 2025, ACEN aims to be Southeast Asian largest listed RE firm.