Alcantara-led Alsons Consolidated Resources, Inc. (ACR) expects to raise about P1.88 billion from the first tranche of its short-term commercial paper issuance, with a portion of the proceeds funding its 22-megawatt (MW) Sindangan hydro power project in Zamboanga del Norte.

The debt papers are part of the holding firm’s P3-billion commercial paper program, it said in its registration statement filed on Jan. 20 with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which shared the document to reporters on Tuesday.

“The Company’s net proceeds from the Offer is expected to be approximately P1,878,248,209.87 after deducting the applicable fees and expenses,” ACR said.

“Depending on the net proceeds raised from the Offer, the Company intends to use the proceeds from the Offer to settle its maturing short-term obligations in the first and second quarter of 2021 and to partially fund its hydro project development,” it added.

The company said that it owed P1.25 billion in short-term loans to various funding entities, including the Sterling Bank of Asia and RCBC Trust and Investments. The loans’ maturity dates are between Feb. and April this year.

In its registration statement, ACR also said that the first tranche would consist of “Series O” and “Series P” papers, which would have tenors of 182 days and 364 days, respectively, from their issue dates. The papers would be issued at a discount to face value.

ACR said that it intends to list the debt papers at the Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp. (PDEx) for secondary trading.

The listed company has engaged Multinational Investment Bancorporation as the offer’s sole manager, arranges and lead underwriter.

“Any unsold portion would be sold at a future date, since the issuance is under a three-year shelf-registration,” ACR said.

The SEC on Tuesday clarified that it had received ACR’s registration statement on the debt papers, but said that these have not yet been declared effective.

“No offer to buy the securities can be accepted and no part of the purchase price can be accepted or received until the registration statement has become effective,” the SEC said. “This… shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy,” it added.

Last month, local debt watcher Philippine Rating Services Corp. (PhilRatings) gave ACR a PRS A+ issuer credit rating with a stable outlook for its planned commercial paper program this year.

According to PhilRatings, a PRS A+ credit rating is an assessment that shows the company’s above-average capacity to meet its financial commitments relative to other local firms. A “stable outlook” is given when a rating is likely to be maintained or remain unchanged in the next 12 months.

Earlier, ACR said that it had allotted around P6.54 billion in capital expenditures (capex) for four projects under development, including three hydro power plants.

Among these planned hydro projects are the 14.6-MW run-of-river Siguil hydro plant, which is under construction in the Sarangani province; the Siayan (Sindangan) hydro plant in Zamboanga del Norte; and the 42-MW Bago hydro plant in Negros Occidental.

The Mindanao power generator has an aggregate installed capacity of 468-MW.

On Tuesday, shares in ACR at the local bourse improved 2.24% or 0.03 centavos to close at P1.37 apiece. — Angelica Y. Yang 

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