First Gen surges 33% after Bloomberg reports $5-B bid for EDC

Federico Lopez

First Gen CEO

Power giant First Gen Corp. shares surged as much as 33 percent on Wednesday after Bloomberg reported that Indonesia’s PT Barito Renewables Energy had made a takeover bid for Energy Development Corp.

The stock climbed to an intraday high of P22.30, up 33 percent from Tuesday’s close before trimming gains to trade at P21.65 still up 29 percent.

EDC is the country’s largest geothermal energy producer and accounts for about one-fifth of the Philippines’ installed renewable energy capacity.

First Gen, led by CEO Federico “Piki” Lopez, retains a controlling stake in the geothermal energy giant. 

Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter, reported that Barito had submitted an offer valuing First Gen-backed EDC at more than $5 billion on an equity basis. 

The report said discussions remain ongoing and there is no certainty a transaction will be reached.

The reported bid follows a 2024 Reuters report that Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC and Australia’s Macquarie were exploring a sale of their roughly 30 percent in EDC.

—Edited by Miguel R. Camus