Bangkok--12 Nov--SET Corporate Communications
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) will list Absolute Clean Energy pcl (ACE), a leading holding company investing in renewable energy business, on November 13, under the ticker symbol "ACE", with a market capitalization at its initial public offering (IPO) of THB 44.77 billion (approx. USD 1.44 billion).
SET Senior Executive Vice President Manpong Senanarong said that ACE would list and start trading on SET in Resources industry group, Energy & Utilities sector.
ACE is a holding company which invests in producers and distributors of electricity and steam, including other related businesses. The company has 13 commercially operating power plants: nine biomass projects under Feed-in-Tariff (FIT) scheme, one natural gas power generation, two solar rooftops, and one municipal solid waste project, with a combined installed capacity of 211.18 megawatts (MWs). Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, Provincial Electricity Authority and industrial operators are ACE's major customers. Moreover, the company's power plants under development, with total installed capacity of 101.29 MWs, are scheduled to feed power into the grid between 2020 and 2021, while having 10 projects with total installed capacity of 99.00 MWs under negotiation.
ACE has a registered paid-up capital of THB 5,088 million, consisting of 9,158 million existing common shares and 1,018 million newly issued shares, with a par value of THB 0.50 each. It offered the whole newly issued shares to general public via IPO at THB 4.40 each, for a total of THB 4.48 billion. Trinity Securities Co., Ltd. is its financial advisor and SCB Securities Co., Ltd. is a co-lead underwriter.
ACE Chairman of Executive Committee Jiratha Songmetta said that with experience and expertise in renewable business, expanded from over 40 years in integrated agriculture industry, the company has accumulated strong expertise in efficient and stable renewable energy production using environment-friendly technology to generate power from various agricultural wastes. Therefore, the clean power plants can help reduce waste emission in the communities. It can be considered a model green energy power plant, caring for environmental, sustainability and governance aspects in line with its vision. The fund raised will be used for investment in 19 power plants under development and under negotiations, consisting of biomass, hybrid (biomass and solar), and municipal solid waste, as well as future projects. The company will also utilize the fund to repay debt owed to financial institutions, and/or redeem debentures, and as working capital.
ACE's three major shareholders after IPO are Wirachai Songmetta (22.4 percent of the paid-up capital), Pornmett Songmetta (21 percent), and Teerawut Songmetta (18.5 percent). The IPO price was determined by a book building process, under which an indicative price range was set and institutional investors had a chance to submit bids for desired number of shares at prices they would be willing to pay. The company and the lead underwriter had to jointly determine the final IPO price, by taking into consideration the company's required capital and demand in shares at a certain level to stabilize price in the secondary market. The company's dividend policy is to pay no less than 30 percent of net profit of its separate financial statements after corporate income tax and legal reserves.
For more information on ACE, please see the company's prospectus at the Securities and Exchange Commission's website at www.sec.or.th; and for general information, please visit www.ace-energy.co.th , as well as www.set.or.th.