Global Business Power to acquire 50% stake in Alsons

MANILA, Philippines – Global Business Power Corporation, a Visayas-based company led by Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (MPIC), is set to acquire a 50% stake in Alsons Consolidated Resources Incorporated (ACR), the publicly-listed company of the Alcantara group and Mindanao’s first independent power producer.

Under the agreement, Global Business Power will acquire a 50% stake in Alsons Thermal Energy Corporation (ATEC) – the holding company for ACR’s baseload coal-fired power plant assets.

ATEC owns a 75% stake in the 210-megawatt (MW) baseload coal-fired power plant of Sarangani Energy Corporation (SEC) in Maasim, Sarangani. ACR’s longtime Japanese partner Toyota Tsusho Corporation will still hold a 25% equity in SEC. 

ATEC will also assume ACR’s stake in San Ramon Power Incorporated, which is developing a 105-MW baseload coal-fired power plant in Zamboanga City.

SEC’s first 105-MW unit began operating in April 2016. Its second 105-MW unit is slated to begin operating in 2019. (READ: Metro Pacific, PH’s largest infra firm, unfazed by unrest in Mindanao)

“The new partnership with Alsons presents a significant milestone for us, through Global Business Power, to enter the fast-growing and dynamic Mindanao market given Alsons’ proven, long-standing, and successful track record in owning and operating power plants in Mindanao,” Manuel Pangilinan, chairman of MPIC and Global Business Power, said in a statement.

When SEC’s plant reaches its full 210-MW capacity in the first half of 2019, it will be servicing over 6 million people in key areas in Mindanao, including General Santos, Cagayan de Oro, Iligan, and Butuan.

Meanwhile, San Ramon Power’s facility is scheduled to begin commercial operations in 2021. It will provide baseload power to Zamboanga City and nearby areas.

“We believe that this partnership will greatly benefit power consumers particularly in light of the planned interconnection of the Mindanao and Visayas grids which we strongly support,” said Tomas Alcantara, chairman and president of ACR, in the statement.

ACR also operates 3 diesel plants in various parts of Mindanao to provide peaking and backup power. It is also entering the renewable sphere with its first 15-MW run-of-river hydro plant in Sarangani scheduled to begin construction this year.

Global Business Power is the leading power supplier in the Visayas with an aggregate capacity of 854 MW of coal- and diesel-powered generating facilities.

Going beyond the Visayas, the company has also gained a presence in Luzon as it is developing a 670-MW coal-fired power plant in Luna, La Union.

Through the partnership with the Alsons group, Global Business Power will now be able to provide services nationwide.

Global Business Power is 56% owned by Beacon Electric Asset Holdings Incorporated (BEAHI) through Beacon PowerGen Holdings Incorporated. BEAHI is a joint venture between MPIC and PLDT Communications and Energy Ventures Incorporated (PCEV), with MPIC holding a 50% voting interest in BEAHI. – Rappler.com