Shares trading of ACE Enexor suspended on backdoor listing

THE Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) on Monday suspended the stocks trading of Ayala-led ACE Enexor, Inc. until further disclosure on its assets-for-shares deal with its affiliate AC Energy Corp. (ACEN).

“Pursuant to the Backdoor Listing Rule, the trading of the ACE Enexor shares will be suspended effective at 9 a.m. on Jan. 3, pending its compliance with the comprehensive corporate disclosure requirement set forth in the said rule,” the bourse operator said in a notice.

A transaction is deemed under backdoor listing when a listed company is “acquired by, merged or combined with an unlisted company, and which acquisition, merger, or combination results in a substantial change in the business, membership of the board of directors, or voting structure of the listed company,” PSE said.

“As a result of the foregoing transaction, power generation business or assets will be infused into ACEX,” the exchange said, referring to the stock symbol of ACE Enexor.

Last week, ACE Enexor announced the signing of an agreement assigning its 339,076,058 shares to ACEN, the listed energy platform of the Ayala group at P10 apiece, in exchange for the latter’s five properties.

ACE Enexor will get ACEN’s 3,064,900 common shares in Palawan55 Exploration & Production Corp. with a par value of P100 apiece or 30.65% of its issued and outstanding shares, while six million common shares or 100% of the issued and outstanding shares in Bulacan Power Generation Corp. will also be swapped to ACE Enexor.

ACE Enexor’s will also get ACEN’s 6,351,000 common shares in CIP II Power Corp. with a par value of P50 each representing 100% of its issued and outstanding shares.

A total of 3.6 million redeemable preferred shares in Ingrid3 Power Corp., a special purpose vehicle for the development of a new power project, with a par value of P1 each, representing 100% of the issued and outstanding redeemable preferred shares in Ingrid 3 will be swapped to ACE Enexor.

Completing the swap lineup is the 33,493,366 common shares in One Subic Power Generation Corp. with a par value of P1 apiece representing 17.13% of the issued and outstanding shares.

The PSE added that the gas and oil exploration company must comply with all the applicable rules and regulations for backdoor listing transactions before its stocks can be traded in again. — Marielle C. Lucenio