Alternergy—which built Southeast Asia’s first commercial wind farm in the northern Philippines—is gearing up for its initial public offering next month to bankroll renewable energy projects with a combined capacity of over 1.2 gigawatts.
The company, which was cofounded by former Philippine energy secretary Vince Perez in 2008, plans to raise as much as 1.88 billion pesos ($34 million) by selling up to 1.26 billion shares (including greenshoe option) for a maximum price of 1.48 peso each. The company is proceeding with its IPO following a recent rally in the local stock market and as the peso rebounded from a 17-year low against the greenback.
Following the recent regulatory approvals, Alternergy will start the book building process this month and list the company on the Philippine Stock Exchange by the end of March. “The IPO is a baby step for us,” Perez said in a recent interview with Forbes Asia at his office in the Makati central business district. “We don’t want to get overly diluted.”
Alternergy currently has 10 operating renewable energy facilities generating more than 70 megawatts of electricity from hydro, solar and wind resources. It plans to invest about 14.5 billion pesos to build hydro and wind projects in the Philippines’ main island of Luzon with a combined capacity of over 156 megawatts in the next four years. To fund these projects, Perez said the company will tap the green bond market.
“Getting listed is the key for us to tap the green bond market,” Perez said. Based on Philippine regulations, institutional investors such as insurance companies and pension funds are only allowed to invest in the green bonds of companies , whose shares are already publicly traded, he added.
Green bonds can help Alternergy raise funds to bankroll its biggest and most ambitious project: a 1,000 megawatt offshore wind farm it is planning to build in partnership with British energy giant Shell.
Alternergy currently has 10 operating renewable energy facilities generating more than 70 megawatts of electricity from hydro, solar and wind resources. It built the country’s first commercial wind farm in the town of Bangui in the northern Philippine province of Ilocos Norte. The facility was eventually sold to billionaire Jaime Zobel de Ayala’s AC Energy.