AboitizPower Invests $11.85 Million for 60% Stake in 191 MW Bukidnon Solar and Battery Storage Project in the Philippines

Aboitiz Power Corp. (AboitizPower) is set to put USD 11.85 million into a company building a 191-megawatt solar power project with battery energy storage in Bukidnon, taking a majority 60% position, based on separate disclosures filed with the Philippine Stock Exchange on Tuesday.

The investment will be carried out by Aboitiz Renewables, Inc. (ARI), a wholly owned subsidiary of AboitizPower, which has signed a joint development and investment agreement with Manolo Fortich Power Corp. (MFPC). MFPC sits under ABC Energy, Inc., which in turn is the wholly owned energy investment arm of A Brown Company, Inc. (ABCI).

ARI to acquire 60% stake in MFPC for USD 11.85 million

The mechanics of the deal, as laid out in the disclosures, involve two stages of subscription. ARI will first take up 3.75 million common shares of MFPC at a par value of USD 0.0157 each, for a total of USD 0.059 million.

Once MFPC's authorized capital stock is increased, ARI will then subscribe to 74.625 million redeemable preferred shares at USD 0.157 apiece, equivalent to USD 11.72 million. Together, the two subscriptions bring ARI's outlay to USD 11.85 million and give it a 60% equity interest in MFPC, with ABC Energy keeping the remaining 40%.

Bukidnon facility pairs solar generation with battery storage

The project covered by the agreement is a solar power facility in Bukidnon with an integrated battery energy storage system. The disclosures did not go beyond this description, leaving the battery component's size and configuration unstated. What the partnership is expected to deliver, according to ABCI, is "the capital, construction, and operating capabilities of AboitizPower."

ABCI framed the arrangement as consistent with its own approach, which it described as a "strategy of developing greenfield energy projects and partnering with established industry players for their construction and operation."

Details still withheld from the market

Several key elements of the project remain undisclosed. The companies have yet to reveal the total development cost of the Bukidnon facility, the construction timetable, and the target date for commercial operations.

Investors and observers of the Philippine power sector will therefore have to wait for further announcements before a fuller picture of the project's schedule and economics emerges.

The parties behind the joint venture

A Brown Company's energy investment arm brings a regional footprint to the deal.

ABCI is a holding and real estate development company based in Cagayan de Oro City, with investments spanning agribusiness, energy generation, and mining. Its wholly owned subsidiary ABC Energy holds MFPC, the vehicle for the Bukidnon development.

On the other side of the agreement, ARI operates 45 renewable energy facilities across the Philippines and maintains a development pipeline exceeding 1,000 MW drawn from solar, hydro, and wind projects.

The Bukidnon solar and storage venture, once completed under the new shareholding structure, would add to that portfolio with AboitizPower in the majority position.

Regulatory filing confirms structure

The transaction came to light through separate disclosures to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Tuesday, the same channel through which the share subscription figures and the 60-40 split between ARI and ABC Energy were confirmed.

With the agreement signed, the next steps hinge on the increase in MFPC's authorized capital stock, which must take place before ARI's subscription to the 74.625 million redeemable preferred shares can proceed.

Majority stake signals AboitizPower's growing renewables push

For AboitizPower, the USD 11.85 million commitment secures majority control of a greenfield solar and battery storage asset in Bukidnon.

For ABCI and ABC Energy, retaining a 40% share while bringing in ARI's capital and operating capability allows the Cagayan de Oro-based group to advance a project it had been developing through MFPC.

The disclosures, however, stop short of stating when the facility will break ground or begin supplying power to the grid, and no figures were provided for the project's eventual total cost.