The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) has approved the acquisition deal of tycoons Manuel V. Pangilinan, Sabin Aboitiz and Ramon S. Ang to boost the country’s power sector.

The PCC said in a statement Monday that it approved the acquisition deal on 20 December subject to competition safeguards.

The deal involves the acquisition of a 67-percent stake by Chromite Gas Holdings Inc. from San Miguel Global Power Holdings Corp. in South Premiere Power Corp., Excellent Energy Resources Inc. and Ilijan Primeline Industrial Estate Corp.

Chromite is a 60-40 percent joint venture between Manila Electric Company’s Meralco PowerGen (MGen) and Aboitiz Power Corp.’s Therma Natgas Power Inc.

Chromite and SMGP are also acquiring 100 percent of Linseed Field Corp. to operate an LNG terminal in Batangas City.

“The deal, which is considered critical for strengthening the country’s energy supply, is subject to conditions aimed at ensuring fair competition and promoting transparency,” the PCC said.

The anti-trust body said that during the review, it identified competition concerns such as risks of coordination in the national power generation market and foreclosure in power supply deals with distribution utility companies.

PCC said the involved firms submitted voluntary commitments on 18 October 2024 to address the competition issues identified by the agency.

“These commitments were reviewed and validated by the PCC, with input from industry players, stakeholders, the Department of Energy and the Energy Regulatory Commission,” it added.