Prime Infrastructure Capital (Prime Infra) of the Razon Group has finalized its purchase of a 60 percent stake in the Lopez Group’s First Gen Corporation natural gas business segment for P50 billion.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Wednesday, the parties said they signed a share purchase agreement on July 15. The deal yet requires approval from the Philippine Competition Commission and the fulfillment of certain conditions precedent.
First Gen said the transaction, first announced on May 30, 2025, will create a strategic partnership, with Prime Infra indirectly owning 60 percent of the issued and outstanding capital stock of several Lopez Group–owned power plants.
These include the 1,000-MW Santa Rita, 500-MW San Lorenzo, 450-MW San Gabriel, 97-MW Avion, the proposed 1,200-MW Santa Maria, and the interim offshore LNG terminal, all located in Batangas.
First Gen emphasized that it will retain a 40 percent stake in these projects, but noted that the transaction is “subject to adjustments and modifications as may be agreed by the parties,” in addition to its entitlement to “receive additional earn-out amounts, subject to the fulfillment of certain conditions.”
Earlier, analysts described the deal as both “opportunistic” and “strategic.”
RCBC chief economist Michael Ricafort said it allows the seller to monetize its stake while the buyer still sees significant future value in the asset.
He added that the transaction reflects an industry-wide shift toward renewable energy sources by companies and governments aiming to reduce carbon footprints and comply with ESG (environmental, social, and governance) standards.
Peter Garnace, a research analyst at Unicapital Securities Inc., called Prime Infra’s acquisition “strategic” for expanding its footprint in the country’s LNG sector, currently viewed as a transition fuel ahead of broader renewable energy adoption. “Given Prime Infra’s exposure to the upstream LNG value chain through its operating stake in the Malampaya gas platform—which supplies LNG to First Gen’s LNG-fired power plants—this acquisition is essentially a forward integration,” Garnace said. He added that the move will “increase overall competition and reduce market concentration among dominant incumbents.”
Garnace also noted that the transaction aligns with First Gen’s recent plan to allocate most of its 2025 capital expenditure to expanding geothermal capacity. First Gen’s capital expenditure for the year amounts to $601 million, 90 percent of which will be used by its subsidiary, Energy Development Corp., for drilling geothermal wells and funding battery storage projects.
Beyond its 2,017 MW of LNG-fired capacity, First Gen has 1,651 MW of installed renewable capacity across 28 solar, wind, hydro, and geothermal plants, for a total of 3,668 MW.
Meanwhile, Prime Infra is involved in water services, sustainable energy, waste management, and sustainable fuels. Its assets include Manila Water Co. Inc., which supplies water to over 7.7 million Filipinos, and Prime Energy, the operator of the Malampaya deepwater gas-to-power project.
