AboitizPower unit prepays $320M loan
ABOITIZ Power Corp. (AboitizPower) on Friday said its subsidiary Therma Power, Inc. (TPI) has prepaid $320 million in loans to several banks.
AboitizPower said in a disclosure on Friday that TPI used internally generated funds to prepay the loan, which was part of a facility agreement dated Nov. 24, 2016 that allowed the company to borrow up to $650 million.
The facility agreement involved the following banks: The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd., DBS Bank Ltd., The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, Maybank Kim Eng Securities Pte. Ltd., Mizuho Bank, Ltd., and Standard Chartered Bank.
TPI had secured the loan to fund its investments totaling $1.2 billion in GNPower Coal Plant Ltd. Co. (GNPower Mariveles) and GNPower Dinginin Ltd. Co. (GNPower Dinginin), both of which operate plants in Bataan. The investments were indirectly made through United States-based Blackstone Group LP.
The acquisition placed TPI’s beneficial ownership interest in GNPower Mariveles at 66.1%, and 40% beneficial ownership interest in GNPower Dinginin.
GNPower Mariveles is a coal-fired power plant with a capacity of 604 megawatts, while GNPower Dinginin has two identical 668MW power blocks also powered by coal, for a total capacity of 1,336 MW.
The company finalized the transaction in December 2016, after securing the approval of both the Board of Investments and the Philippine Competition Commission.
AboitizPower noted the two Bataan plants would bring the company closer to meeting its target of 4,000 MW of installed capacity by 2020.
TPI is AboitizPower’s holding unit for its non-renewable power investments. The company also has interests in renewable power generating facilities. It is also one of the core businesses under Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc., which has subsidiaries and affiliates in financial services, food manufacturing, real estate, infrastructure, and portfolio investments.
AboitizPower booked P15.7 billion attributable profit in the first nine months of 2017, following a 29% increase in revenues to P92.9 billion during the period.
Shares in AboitizPower were up 10 centavos or 0.24% to P41.55 apiece on Friday. — Arra B. Francia
