ACEN Corp., the renewable energy unit of the Ayala Group, said Wednesday it acquired a 49-percent stake in BIM Energy Holding Corp. (BIMEH), a subsidiary of BIM Group, one of the largest Vietnamese private conglomerates for $70.5 million.
ACEN said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange its affiliate ACEN Vietnam Investments Pte. Ltd. (ACEV) signed a share purchase agreement (SPA) with Huntington Renewable Investments Ltd. (HRIL) to acquire the interest in BIMEH.
“The acquisition will allow ACEN to increase its pipeline projects in Vietnam,” the company said.
BIMEH owns interests in Vietnam’s renewable energy assets such as Ninh Thuan Solar (405 megawatts) and Ninh Thuan Wind (88 MW).
ACEN and BIM Group co-developed the Ninh Thuan solar farm, one of the largest solar farms in Southeast Asia. It sits on more than 300 hectares of land and delivers around 600 million kilowatt-hours of renewable power per year to Vietnam’s national grid.
The solar farm started commercial operations in 2019, with ACEN holding a 50-percent economic stake.
Meanwhile, the Ninh Thuan wind farm started commercial operations in 2021 lin South Central Vietnam. ACEN has a 65-percent economic stake in the wind farm.
ACEN recorded a 24-percent increase nine-month net income to P8.14 billion from P6.6 billion a year ago, driven by newly operational plants as its operational generation portfolio reached 3 gigawatts (GW).
ACEN said this expansion was underpinned by a 31-percent growth in attributable renewable energy generation and strong net selling position in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market, the electricity spot market.
The company said new renewable energy plants, operationalized earlier in 2024, continued to contribute significantly to year-to-date growth in generation output and in turn financial performance.
These new plants in the Philippines also allowed ACEN Renewable Energy Solutions (RES), the company’s retail electricity supply unit, to expand its contracted customer base.
“ACEN’s renewable capacity has grown to almost 7 GW, in line with the strong momentum behind the energy transition in the region. The company continues to focus on execution especially for projects in construction and under development,” ACEN president and chief executive Eric Francia said.
