BASIC Energy Corp. (BEC) has completed its acquisition of a minority stake in a Thai company building a solar power plant in Myanmar.
In a disclosure to the stock exchange on Friday, the listed firm said it acquired 2,521,865 shares in VTE International Company Limited (Thailand) (Vinter), representing 15% of the firm’s total equity.
Under the deal, Vinter will hike its capital to 168,124,320 Thai baht from 1,000,000 Thai baht through the issuance of 16.71 million shares. BEC will subscribe to a total of 2.51 million shares for its 15% equity interest.
Vinter’s selling shareholder, Meta Corporation Public Company Limited, received the payment of $34,362.07, or about P1.72 million, for the transaction on Feb. 15.
Vinter is in charge for the engineering, procurement, and construction of a 220-megawatt (MW) solar power plant project in Minbu, Magway region in Myanmar. The company has partnered with Vintage EPC Company Limited (VEPC) for the project, where BEC also has a 15% stake.
Planning, design, and construction for the solar power plant started in 2016, with the first phase of construction seen to be completed within the first quarter of this year.
The owner-developer of the project is Green Earth Power (Myanmar), which holds the power purchase agreement with the Myanmar government’s energy and power ministry.
The company earlier said that its involvement in the project will only be as a stakeholder in the Vinter and VEPC, and not with the project itself. BEC President and Chief Executive Officer Oscar L. De Venecia, Jr. said he will serve as a director on the board of the Thai companies as part of the shareholders’ agreement.
BEC’s investment in the Thai companies marks its foray into solar-related energy projects overseas. The company is further looking for opportunities in other renewable energy projects in the region.
Shares in BEC slipped by 1.2% or 0.30 centavos to close at 24.7 centavos each at the stock exchange on Friday. — Arra B. Francia
