SN Aboitiz Power-Benguet, Inc. (SNAP-Benguet) said it has raised Php18billion in unsecured notes from BDO Unibank and Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) to refinance its loans and support the company’s other needs.
The proceeds were mainly used to prepay in full SNAP-Benguet’s US Dollar- and Peso-denominated senior project loans to International Finance Corporation (IFC), Nordic Investment Bank (NIB), BDO, and BPI, according to a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange by Aboitiz Power Corporation, SNAP-Benguet’s parent firm.
SNAP-Benguet, a joint venture between AboitizPower and SN Power AS of Norway, acquired the then 175 MW Ambuklao-Binga Hydroelectric Power Plant for US$325 million through a competitive bidding conducted by the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation in November 2007.
Other than its Benguet facilities, SNAP operates the Magat Hydroelectric Power Plant and a floating solar project inside the Magat Dam reservoir on the Isabela-Ifugao border. The joint venture plans to expand its floating solar portfolio following the success of its initial Magat project.