Ayala-led AC Energy Philippines, Inc. has moved the rights offer period for its stocks to this month, saying it deemed the earlier date to be “prudent” since its existing regulatory approval requires a January 2021 completion.
In a regulatory filing on Friday, the listed energy company said it would open its stock rights offering (SRO) on Jan. 18 until 22, from the first work week of February previously.
The move comes as the company announced that it had obtained approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Jan. 5 to change its name to AC Energy Corp.
AC Energy is offering 2.27 billion common shares at an offer price of P2.37 apiece. The offering would consist of two rounds to be followed by a domestic institutional offer.
The net proceeds of the offering will be used by the company “to partially fund the development of its various power projects, inorganic growth opportunities as and when they arise, and its other general corporate requirements.”
AC Energy said it had amended its offer period for the offering following the approval of its executive committee. The listing of the stocks is set on Jan. 29.
“The Ex-Rights Date of 8 January 2021, and Record Date of 13 January 2021 remain the same,” the firm said.
The firm said that initially it scheduled the offer period from Feb. 1 to Feb. 5 to “ensure widest dissemination and participation.”
“Given the imminent Ex-Rights Date and Record Date, ACEN deemed it prudent to finalize the dates based on the existing regulatory approval that requires a January 2021 completion,” it said.
The revised dates are subject to the approval of the SEC and the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), as well as other conditions. The company said the dates may be adjusted at its discretion and the joint lead underwriters.
The company reiterated that its rights offering is exempted from the registration requirement of the securities code. Because of this, the offer shares are not registered with the SEC.
“Any further offer or sale of such offer shares is subject to registration requirements under the SRC (Securities Regulation Code) unless such offer or sale qualifies as an exempt transaction,” AC Energy said.
In a separate disclosure, the company said the change in its corporate name is meant to align with the expanded scope of business resulting from the consolidation of the international operations of parent firm AC Energy, Inc. via a tax-free exchange through an assets-for-share swap.
The assets-for-share swap will be reviewed by the SEC, and is subject to fair market valuation.
Last year, AC Energy’s top official Eric T. Francia said that the company would undergo corporate restructuring in the coming years. The restructuring would begin with a stock rights offering in the first quarter this year.
He added that the firm aimed to raise $2 billion in equity to exceed its 2025 target to reach 5- gigawatts of installed energy capacity. Part of the plan is to generate around 50% of energy from renewables in four years’ time.
On Friday, shares in AC Energy at the stock exchange shed 2.37% to close at P7.82 apiece. — Angelica Y. Yang
