BIZ BUZZ: Leviste builds war chest

Young business magnate Leandro Legarda Leviste is putting all his shares in SP New Energy Corp. (SPNEC) under his name … maybe a setup for smoother unloading?

SPNEC disclosed on Thursday that the businessman-turned-politician consolidated his shares via a P6.32-billion share transfer from his company, Solar Philippines Power Project Holdings, Inc.

Through a special block sale, Solar Philippines—a substantial stockholder of SPNEC, transferred its 10.83-billion common shares to the 32-year-old newbie lawmaker.

This move, however, has no material impact as it “did not change Mr. Leviste’s beneficial ownership in the company,” according to SPNEC.

Just in June, Solar Philippines disclosed Leviste’s move to cut his stake in SPNEC and affiliates as he secured the post as Batangas 1st district representative. At that time, the firm said Leviste had sealed a fresh deal with Meralco PowerGen Corp. (MGEN) for the sale of 5.01 billion SPNEC shares for P6.26 billion.

The company said Leviste uses the money from the share sales for real estate investments and other businesses, with the profits funding his “philanthropic initiatives.”

See Also

Rice imports drop 16% amid ban on inbound cargoes

MGEN, the power generation arm of Pangilinan-led Manila Electric Co., owns 53.7 percent in SPNEC through MGreen. Leviste, for his part, remains a significant minority shareholder.

SPNEC is set to position itself in the global market with its P200-billion solar facility in Luzon, designed to have 3,500 MW of total capacity and a massive 4,500 megawatt-hour battery energy storage system.