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ABOITIZ Power Corp. gained full control of a power firm supplying
electricity to an industrial park in Cebu after buying out
Japanese-firm Tsuneishi Holdings Inc.’s (Tsuneishi) stake in the
utility.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock
Exchange, the power unit of Cebu-based Aboitiz group said that it
acquired Tsuneishi’s 40-percent equity in Balamban Enerzone Corp.
(BEZ) for about P178 million.
Aboitiz Power said that the purchase price will
be paid out of the proceeds of the initial public offering it
undertook last year.
BEZ owns and operates the power distribution
system of the 200-hectare West Cebu Industrial Park in Balamban,
Cebu, home to the shipbuilding facilities of Tsuneishi Heavy
Industries Inc., a joint venture between the Aboitiz group and
Tsuneishi. The industrial park also hosts FBMA Marine Inc. and the
steel fabrication facility of Metaphil International Inc., both of
which are subsidiaries of the group.
Aboitiz Power’s acquisition of Tusneishi’s
shares in BEZ brings its total equity to 100 percent. The company
previously acquired a 60-percent equity in BEZ from its affiliate,
Aboitizland Inc. through a shares swap agreement early in the year.
In its financial report, Aboitiz Power said that
its acquisition of the 60 percent equity in BEZ and a 100-percent
ownership in Mactan Enerzone Corp. helped propel profits from its
distribution business to a 52-percent growth last year at P1.5
billion.
The company’s consolidated net profits for the
said period as against 2006 figures jumped by 124 percent to P4.1
billion.
Aboitiz Power’s shares closed lower Friday at
P4.95 from P5.10 the previous day.
-- Euan Paulo C. Añonuevo
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