AC Energy Holdings, Inc. a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ayala Corporation, and as part of an Indonesian consortium and a Philippine consortium , signed Share Sale and Purchase Agreements with Chevron Global Energy Inc., Union Oil Company of California and their relevant affiliates for the purchase of Chevron’s geothermal operations in Indonesia and the Philippines.
The Indonesia consortium consists of AC Energy (with 19.8% economic stake), Star Energy Group Holdings Pte. Ltd., Star Energy Geothermal Pte. Ltd., and Electricity Generating Public Company Ltd. and 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 Holdings Pte. Ltd. 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. 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 2000MW by 2020,” said John Eric T. Francia, President and Chief Executive Officer, AC Energy Holdings, Inc.
In Indonesia, Chevron subsidiaries operate the Darajat and Salak geothermal fields in West Java, with a combined capacity of 235MW equivalent of steam and 402MW of electricity. In the Philippines, company subsidiaries have a 40 percent equity interest in the Philippine Geothermal Production Company, 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 700MW.
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.