Ayala hikes price offer for Aussie energy company
By Myrna M. Velasco – June 30, 2020, 4:10 PM
from Manila Bulletin
Ayala’s AC Energy Inc. and its partner Hong Kong-based UPC Renewables have increased their price offer to A$0.86 per share as against the leaner A$0.80 tender that was previously lodged for targeted acquisition of Australian firm Infigen Energy.
Their joint venture company UAC Energy is in a very tight race against Spanish energy giant Iberdrola in that acquisition bid, in which the latter also upped the ante by raising its offer to A$0.89 per share.
UAC Energy announced this week that the increased offer is “wholly unconditional and that it will accelerate payment terms to T+10 business days.”
The company qualified “the improved UAC offer is at a compelling price equal to the level at which the Infigen board endorsed a competitor’s bid, unconditional, does not have a minimum acceptance condition and allows security holders to accept the offer for all or part of their stapled securities.”
The revised offer was filed as a supplementary bidder’s statement with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) in relation to UAC’s “off-market takeover bid for all the stapled securities in Infigen Energy Limited.”
UAC Energy further indicated that “it will procure the provision of an unsecured loan to Infigen on arm’s length terms to refinance its corporate facility if required.”
Infigen is deemed as an attractive investment proposition for the Ayala firm and its partner given the company’s existing portfolio of 670 megawatts of wind farms all over Australia. These wind power facilities are coupled with gas, battery storage and contracted assets.
The AC Energy-UPC Renewables tandem has been hunting for investment opportunities down under since 2017, and it has so far been advancing in solar farm developments. Other targets are on wind and hydropower installations.
By early June, UAC Energy reported that it hiked to 13.40-percent its direct and indirect ownership in the Australian energy firm.
According to the Ayala company, “the acquisition of interest in Infigen strengthens both AC Energy’s and UPC\AC’s commitment to provide low-cost power in Australia by expanding its operating portfolio and enabling the sale of energy through retail channels.”
It specified “the investment in Infigen is a crucial move forward for AC Energy’s regional expansion,” which is in line with its goal for 5,000-megawatt capacity by 2025 to be strategically developed both in the Philippines and overseas.
The Ayala firm also announced just recently that it will be developing a 720-megawatt solar farm installation in New England, Australia.
