Ayala wins bid for assets of Chevron in PH, Indonesia

The power generation arm of conglomerate Ayala Corp. will acquire significant stakes in the geothermal assets being sold by multinational energy giant Chevron, the holding firm of the Zobel family said.

In a press statement, Ayala Corp. said its wholly owned subsidiary AC Energy Holdings Inc.—as part of separate Indonesian and Philippine consortia—signed share-sale-and-purchase agreements with Chevron Global Energy Inc., Union Oil Co. of California and their affiliates for the purchase of Chevron’s geothermal operations in Indonesia and the Philippines.

The purchase price was not disclosed.

The Indonesia consortium consists of AC Energy (with 19.8-percent economic stake), Star Energy Group Holdings Pte. Ltd., Star Energy Geothermal Pte. Ltd., and Electricity Generating Public Company Ltd. The acquisition will be made through their joint venture company, Star Energy Geothermal (Salak-Darajat) B.V.

On the other hand, the Philippine consortium consists of AC Energy and Star Energy Group, and the acquisition will be made through their joint venture company, ACEHI-STAR Holdings Inc.

“The closing of the transaction is made subject to the satisfaction of certain agreed conditions,” Ayala Corp. added in its caveat. “In particular, for the acquisition of the Philippine asset, the closing is subject to obtaining certain consents and approvals, including the approval of the Philippine Competition Commission.”

“This acquisition is a major milestone for AC Energy as this scales up our renewable energy platform and establishes our presence in Indonesia. This is a significant step towards attaining our goal of reaching 2000 megawatts by 2020,” AC Energy president and CEO John Eric Francia said.

In Indonesia, Chevron subsidiaries operate the Darajat and Salak geothermal fields in West Java, with a combined capacity of 235 MW equivalent of steam and 402 MW of electricity. In the Philippines, company subsidiaries have a 40-percent equity interest in Philippine Geothermal Production Co. Inc., which operates the Tiwi and Mak-Ban geothermal field in Southern Luzon and supplies steam to power plants with a combined name plate capacity of around 700 MW.

Clifford Chance Pte Ltd. acted as the lead transaction counsel to the consortium. Credit Suisse acted as the sole financial advisor and joint financier to the consortium. BPI and DBS acted as lead coordinators for the debt financing. –Daxim L. Lucas