SPNEC rebrand sparks buzz over MGreen listing

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January 23, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines —  SP New Energy Corp. (SPNEC) is set to rebrand to align with Meralco PowerGen Corp., but the move has sparked speculation about a potential backdoor listing of MGEN’s renewable power arm.

In a stock exchange filing yesterday, SPNEC said its board of directors approved renaming the company to MGEN Renewable Energy Holdings Inc. and changing its stock symbol to MGENR.

The company also submitted the corresponding application to the Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday.

MGEN, the power generation arm of Pangilinan-led Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), said SPNEC’s corporate name change is part of its ongoing rebranding effort, which began last August.

“It aims to strengthen alignment and consistency across the One MGEN group as it presents a unified identity for its diversified power generation portfolio, including renewable energy,” MGEN said.

“The filing is intended to enhance clarity and ease of identification for stakeholders and does not involve any changes to SPNEC’s ownership structure, operations or existing renewable energy projects,” it added.

The move, however, has triggered speculation that MGEN Renewables (MGreen), the Meralco Group’s clean energy arm, may pursue a backdoor listing, as its name closely mirrors SPNEC’s planned rebrand.

“I think this confirms that Meralco PowerGen will push through with the backdoor infusion of its renewable energy business into the listed company,” investment banker Juan Paolo Colet told The STAR.

Meralco and MGEN chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan confirmed earlier that MGreen was evaluating the assets to be infused into SPNEC after engaging advisors for the potential listing.

Under Philippine Stock Exchange rules, backdoor listing occurs when a publicly listed firm, directly or indirectly, “acquires the shares or assets of an unlisted company” or vice versa.

Aside from the potential listing, Colet said SPNEC’s name change may also be intended to distance the company from any association with Batangas Rep. Leandro Leviste’s businesses.

“The timing may have also been prompted by a need to distance the company from the controversy surrounding Leandro Leviste’s Solar Philippines,” he noted.

Solar Philippines, which made Leviste the country’s youngest self-made billionaire, is currently facing a P24-billion penalty after the Department of Energy terminated its 33 service contracts due to nonperformance.

Solar Philippines still owns 16.3 percent of SPNEC, while the Meralco Group holds a commanding 57.33 percent stake through MGreen.