CREC eyes June close for P6.7-B deal with Indonesian firm

LISTED renewable energy company Citicore Renewable Energy Corp. (CREC) expects to achieve financial close by June on its share subscription agreement with Indonesian state-owned PT Pertamina Power Indonesia (Pertamina New & Renewable Energy or NRE), under which the latter will acquire a 20% stake in CREC.

“We are hoping to close by next month. We’re only waiting for one final closing condition to be achieved by Pertamina,” CREC President and Chief Executive Officer Oliver Tan said during the PSE Star: Investor Day on Friday last week.

In January, CREC and Pertamina NRE entered into a landmark share subscription agreement involving the latter’s acquisition of 2.23 billion common shares in CREC at P3 per share.

The transaction will result in a 20% equity interest in CREC, with an estimated value of P6.7 billion.

“The partnership with Pertamina NRE presents limitless opportunities for Indonesia and the Philippines to collaborate on innovative technologies and practices in renewable energy,” Mr. Tan previously said.

“It gives a wider stage to CREC’s unique end-to-end capabilities by opening doors in Indonesia even as we drive our developments in the Philippines at full speed,” he added.

Proceeds from the agreement will support CREC’s pipeline of renewable energy projects, in line with its target of expanding its portfolio to 5 gigawatts over five years.

While CREC is planning to expand into new areas, Mr. Tan said the company will continue focusing on the expansion of existing and soon-to-be-energized plants through next year.

“The primary factors that influence our decisions for new areas obviously would be the grid capacity and the solar irradiance and obviously the geotechnical analysis that comes with the site selection,” Mr. Tan said.

CREC, directly and through its subsidiaries and joint ventures, manages a diversified portfolio of renewable energy generation projects, power project development operations, and retail electricity supply services.

At present, the company holds a combined gross installed capacity of 285 megawatts from its solar facilities across the Philippines. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera