Indonesia’s 2nd-wealthiest man Prajogo Pangestu to buy Philippines’ largest geothermal company

Barito Renewables Energy, which is controlled by Pangestu, has made an unsolicited, indicative, and non-binding offer to acquire EDC in a deal that values the Philippine geothermal producer at US$5 billion, according to Forbes.

The proposal is subject to due diligence and the necessary regulatory approvals, Manila-based First Gen Corp. (EDC’s largest shareholder) said in a recent statement.

“To date, there have been no discussions between the parties, no agreements have been signed,” First Gen, which is controlled by tycoon Federico Lopez and his family, said in the statement, adding that it has not hired any financial advisers for the transaction.

Indonesian billionaire Prajogo Pangestu. Photo courtesy of Bakti Barito

EDC, a former state-owned company acquired by the Lopez group in 2007, owns and operates 16 geothermal power plants across the Philippines with a combined installed capacity of 1,300 megawatts. The company also has nearly 300 megawatts of hydroelectric, solar, and wind power capacity.

Juan Paolo E. Colet, managing director at China Bank Capital Corp., said the proposal could unlock shareholder value if it materializes, according to Philippines-based newspaper Business World.

“Given First Gen’s persistent market valuation discount, such a transaction represents an opportunity to return a meaningful amount of capital to shareholders while simultaneously recycling proceeds into more profitable clean energy investments.”

Pangestu has been expanding his energy portfolio since 2023, when he listed coal miner Petrindo Jaya Kreasi and Barito Renewables Energy, the holding company of Star Energy Geothermal Group, Indonesia’s largest geothermal producer with 886 megawatts of installed capacity across three geothermal power projects in West Java.

In 2024, Pangestu partnered with Philippine tycoon Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala’s ACEN to develop wind projects in Indonesia.

The Indonesian tycoon has also expanded in Singapore. In April 2025, a joint venture between Chandra Asri Pacific and commodities giant Glencore completed the acquisition of Shell’s refinery and petrochemical assets in the city-state. Five months later, Chandra Asri acquired Esso’s gas station network in Singapore.

With a net worth of $15.4 billion, based on Forbes’ real-time data, Pangestu ranks second in wealth in Indonesia behind “coal king” Low Tuck Kwong who is worth $16.1 billion.

Pangestu built his fortune from timber company Barito Pacific, which he transformed into an energy and petrochemicals conglomerate.

The Lopez family has a net worth of $285 million and ranks among the Philippines’ wealthiest families. In addition to energy, the family has interests in real estate and media through ABS-CBN, once the country’s largest television broadcaster until the Philippine Congress declined to renew its franchise in 2020.