Semirara Mining Corporation is raising around P4.8 billion through a stock rights offering to partially finance its $361.7 million acquisition of the 600 megawatt Batangas coal-fired thermal power plant.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Semirara said its board has approved the offer of 92.52 million common shares to be issued from the firm’s existing authorized capital.

Stockholders shall be entitled to subscribe to one rights share for every three common shares held.

The offer price will be determined based on the volume weighted average price of SCC’s common shares traded in the PSE for the 15-day trading period preceding the pricing date.

The firm’s shares closed at P52.50 each last January 12.

SCC said its shareholders DMCI Holdings, Inc., Dacon Corporation and DFC Holdings, Inc. have committed to subscribe to their respective entitlements as well as to purchase, collectively or singly, any rights shares that are not taken up by other qualified shareholders.

DMCI is buying the 600 MW Batangas Coal-Fired Thermal Power Plant, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, SEM- Calaca Power Corporation.

The Calaca facility consists of two 300-MW generating units primarily designed to run as a base-load plant and designed to use local coal from Semirara, a subsidiary of DMCI Holdings. The two units are currently producing a combined capacity of only 350 MW.

DMCI was one of only two bidders that showed up for the auction of the plant. Its bid edged out Thailand-based Banpu Power Ltd. Inc. which submitted a bid of $280 million.

DMCI Holdings has committed to make its newly-acquired Calaca power plant a world-class facility. DMCI president Isidro Consunji said “Calaca will be the only coal-fired power plant in Luzon owned and operated by Filipinos.”

“We believe that Calaca employees, who are all Filipino, are very well equipped and very much capable to make Calaca a world-class coal-fired power plant,” he added.