Philippines green energy firm Citicore to offer 3.3 billion shares

Citicore Renewable Energy Corp, one of the Philippines' largest solar power producers, announced on Monday that it has filed for a $231.9 million initial public offering. Citicore intends to offer up to 3.335 billion shares, including an over-allotment option, at up to $0.07 per share to finance new solar power facilities, capitalising on the Philippines' significant push to rely on cleaner energy sources.

According to a release, the company intends to raise 11.25 billion pesos in new financing for its project pipeline.

The maximum offer price in a Philippine IPO is a placeholder value mentioned in the filing to securities regulators. It is not uncommon for the maximum offer price to be reduced late in the IPO process.

As of the end of September, Citicore operated 10 solar properties with a total gross installed capacity of 285 megawatts (MW). It has 6,446 MW of solar power generation projects in the pipeline, as well as 812 MW of onshore wind projects.

The timeframe, final offer price, and quantity of offer shares will all be determined by market conditions, according to Citicore.

Citicore enlisted the help of UBS and BDO Capital to handle the IPO.

The Philippines, a country of thousands of islands that is particularly sensitive to climate change, intends to expand renewables in its power mix from 21 per cent in 2020 to 35 per cent by 2030 and 50 per cent by 2040. Coal accounted for about 60 per cent of total energy use in 2020.

(With Reuters inputs)