Synergy Grid cleared on ownership dispersal in NGCP stake acquisition

SYNERGY GRID & Development Phils., Inc. said on Monday that the energy regulator had ruled that its acquisition of 40.2% of the outstanding capital stock of the country’s power grid operator satisfies the requirement of the law on ownership dispersal.

In a disclosure, Synergy Grid said that it had received on June 24 an order issued by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) declaring the acquisition to have satisfied Section 8 of Republic Act No. 9511, the law that granted privately owned National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) its franchise.

Synergy Grid said that as a listed company, it had met the minimum public ownership requirement under the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Philippine Stock Exchange when it had a follow-on public offering in November 2021 to disperse at least 20% of its capital stock to the public.

It also said that when it acquired indirect ownership of 40.2% of NGCP’s outstanding capital stock, the ERC declared the grid operator as compliant with the requirement of its franchise law.

NGCP is in charge of operating, maintaining, and developing the state-owned electricity grid, which is an interconnected system that transmits high voltage power from plants to where it is needed.

Section 8 of its franchise law requires NGCP to make a public offering of its shares representing 20% of its outstanding capital stock or a higher percentage that may be provided by law.

The listing must be within 10 years from the start of its operation. NGCP started operating as a power transmission service provider in 2009. Its statutory deadline to list should have been in 2019.

In November 2018, NGCP sought ERC approval to extend its listing deadline. In the regulator’s final order, the company’s period of compliance was extended until November 2021.

The law also provides that the listing on the exchange of any company that directly or indirectly owns or controls at least 30% of NGCP’s outstanding shares of stock “shall be considered full compliance of this listing requirement.”

NGCP is Synergy Grid’s sole operating asset.

On Monday, shares in Synergy Grid slipped by 0.33% or four centavos to close at P12.16 each. — VVS