The Ayala Way Vol. 4 No. 88
ACEN Lists P25B Preferred Shares
“The issuance is part of the company’s strategy to diversify its sources of funding, and to gain access to a wider base of investors. Being the first of its kind in the Philippines with the fixed-for-life feature, we are delighted with the strong investor response, which is a testament to the strong alignment with ACEN’s sustainability focus and growth aspirations.”
CORA DIZON
ACEN CFO and Chief Compliance Office
At the PSE listing ceremony for ACEN’s P25B Preferred Shares held on September 1 were (from left) ACEN Executive Director and Legal and Regulatory Head Dodjie Lagazo, Treasurer Cecile Cruzabra, CFO and Chief Compliance Officer Cora Dizon, President and CEO Eric Francia, and Vice Chairman Cezar Consing, with SEC Commissioner Kelvin Lester Lee, PSE President and CEO Ramon Monzon, COO Roel Refran, Issuer Regulation Division Head Marigel Baniqued-Garcia, Corporate Secretary Aissa Encarnacion, and General Counsel Veronica Vicedo-Del Rosario
ACEN recently marked the issuance of its P25.0 billion perpetual preferred shares which were listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange on September 1. It was the largest preferred shares offering in the Philippines since 2016.
Strong demand from both institutional and retail investors allowed ACEN to fully exercise its oversubscription option of up to P12.5 billion on top of the base offer of P12.5 billion. The offer is the first tranche under ACEN’s shelf registration of up to 50 million preferred shares, rendered effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 10.
“We are very thankful for the exceptional support that we received from investors. The additional capital further strengthens the company’s balance sheet and helps us accelerate our renewables expansion,” said ACEN President and CEO Eric Francia. The company had earlier disclosed that the amount raised will be used to finance new or existing eligible green projects (EGPs) in accordance with its Green Equity Framework, including the refinancing of short-term bridge loans for EGPs, and to enable more than 1 GW of renewable energy projects in the Philippines.
The Series A Preferred Shares carry an initial dividend rate of 7.1330 percent per annum, with dividend rate re-setting on the fifth anniversary of the listing date. The Series B Preferred Shares have a fixed dividend rate of 8.0000 percent per annum with no dividend rate re-setting, and comprise the first Philippine peso-denominated fixed-for-life equity instrument listed on the PSE.
BPI Capital Corporation, BDO Capital, and China Bank Capital served as joint issue managers for the offer, together with PNB Capital, RCBC Capital, and SB Capital as joint lead underwriters and bookrunners.
About the author
Knowledge Management (1)
AC Knowledge Management is responsible for enterprise content management, archives management, and the development of knowledge products and services in Ayala. KM produces books on corporate history and business developments and publishes the groupwide internal communications channel, The Ayala Way.