Philippines: GNPower raises $800 M for refinancing of its debt

Philippines: GNPower raises $800 M for refinancing of its debt

The corporate vehicle of the 690-megawatt GNPower Mariveles coal-fired power
project had cash infusion of US$800 million, mainly for debt refinancing and
the rest for general funding purposes.

GNPower Mariveles Coal Plant Ltd. Co. (GMCP), according to majority equity
holder Aboitiz Power Corporation, signed on August 29 "a notes facility
agreement with a consortium of lenders," on said loan procurement.

The noteholders had been BDO Unibank, Inc., China Banking Corporation, Land
Bank of the Philippines, Security Bank Corporation and Philippine Bank of
Communications.

Tapped as sole mandated lead arranger had been BDO Capital & Investment
Corporation, the disclosure of Aboitiz Power at the Philippine Stock
Exchange (PSE) had further stipulated.

"The proceeds of the notes will be used by GMCP to, among others, refinance
its existing loans and for other general corporate purposes," the company
said.

GMCP is a joint venture of Aboitiz Power subsidiaries Therma Mariveles
Holdings, Inc. and Therma Mariveles Camaya B.V.; Mariveles Coal Project GP
Corp., Power Partners Ltd. Co.; and the affiliates of Ayala Group's AC
Energy Holdings, Inc. namely Arlington Mariveles GP Corporation and
Arlington Mariveles Netherlands Holdings B.V.

Aboitiz Power took majority equity of 66.1 percent in GNPower Mariveles as
well as 40-percent beneficial ownership in the ongoing 668MW
GNPower-Dinginin project, in a US$1.2-billion transaction that closed last
year.

The company bought into the shareholdings previously held by investment
funds The Blackstone Group L.P. in World Power Holdings L.P.; and Sithe
Global Power, L.P.

The GNPower Mariveles facility is a commercially operating generating asset
comprising of two units at 345MW capacity each; and up for expansion via the
Dinginin power project that is targeted to be on commercial stream by year
2019.

The GNPower acquisition had been a significant step for Aboitiz Power
because this is part of the equation for its 4,000 MW capacity target by
year 2020.

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Link to Original Article:
http://business.mb.com.ph/2017/08/30/gnpower-raises-800-m-for-refinancing-of
-its-debt/

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John Diecker
APT Consulting Group Co., Ltd.

www.aptthailand.com