Aboitiz-led group musters P70 billion loan for CBK buyout

Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!

Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.

Visit Suniway.ph to learn

December 19, 2025 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — The Aboitiz-led consortium has secured up to P70 billion in financing from BDO Unibank Inc. and Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. (Metrobank) to bankroll the acquisition of a massive hydro complex in Laguna.

In a regulatory filing yesterday, Aboitiz Power Corp. said the bridge loan facilities would allow Thunder Consortium to draw up to P35 billion each from BDO and Metrobank for the buyout of the 797-megawatt Caliraya-Botocan-Kalayaan (CBK) hydro assets.

The consortium comprising Aboitiz Renewables Inc. and Japan’s Sumitomo Corp. and Electric Power Development Co. bagged CBK after topping the government’s auction in July with a P36.3-billion offer.

State-run Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. intends to turn over the hydro complex to the consortium in February 2026.

Recently, Thunder Consortium cleared the regulatory hurdle for the CBK takeover after securing approval from the Philippine Competition Commission.

CBK currently operates under a 25-year build-rehabilitate-operate-transfer contract and power purchase agreement between CBK Power Co. Ltd. and National Power Corp., set to expire in February 2026.

The complex consists of hydroelectric power plants in Lumban, Majayjay and Kalayaan in Laguna. The Kalayaan plant is the country’s first and only operational pumped storage hydro facility.

With the CBK acquisition, AboitizPower expects to strengthen its renewable energy portfolio and deliver a significant uplift to earnings.

As the Aboitiz family’s power arm, AboitizPower aims to achieve around 4.6 gigawatts of attributable renewable energy capacity by 2030.

This is aligned with the company’s broader target of having a balanced mix of traditional and renewable power sources.

As of July, AboitizPower had emerged as the country’s leading power producer, accounting for a market share of 23.86 percent or around 6.77 million kilowatts in capacity.