THE US-led power producer AES Corp. is looking  into selling one of its majority stakes in the 630-megawatt Masinloc power plant in Zambales with a projected value of more than $1 billion.

The news was confirmed by an anonymous source, saying that the deal may represent AES’ exit if the sale would formally proceed as the electricity generator continues to sell its assets to clear debt, seeking to achieve an investment-grade credit rating by 2020.

AES Corp. has a 51 percent controlling interest in the Masinloc coal-fired power asset, which it acquired in a $930 million bid in 2008.

In 2014, Thailand’s Electricity Generating Public Co. Ltd. acquired 41 percent of its stake while the remaining 8 percent is owned by the World Bank’s International Finance Corp.

The source also said that AES Corp. has already realized its gains from the 2008 acquisition and wants to seek out “good value” from the sale.

Any transaction will add to the $72.8 billion in acquisitions of Asian energy and utility companies over the past 12 months, Bloomberg reports.

Meanwhile, local major utilities like Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) and Aboitiz Power are positioning for the Masinloc unit, with both interested parties preparing to study its participation as soon as the sale is formally announced.

“The process hasn’t been started. It’s up to them…but we have to do all the necessary due diligence,” Meralco President Oscar Reyes said. “AES is an existing, operating generating company. In a sense, you already have something that is potentially cash and income accretive to the business.”

Meralco PowerGen (MGen), Meralco’s generator facility prior to the Retail Competition and Open Access regime, can greatly benefit in earning the Masinloc asset considering that it doesn’t have an existing power plant yet.

On the other hand, Aboitiz Power said that they will wait for AES Corp. to issue a process letter as they have participated in a similar unit sale when the Masin-loc plant was then operated by the national government way back in late 2000. – JEANNE PAULIN ATIENZA | Power Philippines