Prime Infrastructure Capital—controlled by ports-to-casino billionaire Enrique Razon Jr—is stepping up investments in the energy sector with the proposed acquisition of Colombia’s SierraCol Energy.

Prime Infra has agreed to buy investment firm Carlyle’s stake in SierraCol Energy, Washington-based Carlyle said in a statement. Financial details weren’t disclosed. Reuters previously reported Carlyle had sought $1.5 billion for Colombia’s largest independent energy producer.

In a separate statement, Prime Infra said it signed two financing agreements, valued at 273.5 billion ($4.6 billion), to fund the construction of two pump storage and hydropower projects in the Philippines with a combined electricity generating capacity of 2 gigawatts.

The financing agreements come on the heels of Prime Infra’s sale last month of its 40% stake in the two hydropower projects to First Gen, controlled by tycoon Federico Lopez and his family, for 75 billion pesos, deepening their strategic alliance in the energy sector. At the same time, Prime Infra has been scaling up its energy investments with the recent acquisition of a 60% stake in First Gen’s gas assets.

The SierraCol Energy transaction, which is expected to be completed next month subject to regulatory approvals, would be the first overseas energy asset of Prime Infra. “This acquisition strengthens our oil and gas expertise and complements our existing asset base in the Philippines,” Prime Infra CEO Guillaume Lucci said.SierraCol has a strong presence in Colombia’s most productive oil fields—Caño Limón and La Cira Infantas—producing 77,000 barrels of oil per day, accounting for 10% of Colombia’s total output. The company’s oil wells have an estimated reserve of 129 million barrels.

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“Together, these capabilities position us to operate across the oil and gas value chain—from upstream to downstream, onshore and offshore—and to participate in the sector’s growth against the backdrop of a broader commodities supercycle,” Lucci said. Since the 2022 acquisition of a stake in the Malampaya gas field in the West Philippine Sea, Prime Infra has been bulking up its energy assets. Construction of the two hydropower projects in Rizal province, east of Manila, and in Laguna, south of the capital, is expected to be completed by 2030.

A syndicate of eight local lenders including Bank of Philippine Islands, BDO Unibank, Metropolitan Bank, Philippine National Bank and Union Bank of the Philippines will provide 214.9 billion pesos of the funding for the hydropower projects, while Japanese lenders including MUFG, Mizuho Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. will provide 58.6 billion pesos.

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“These agreements will accelerate critical infrastructure investments and strengthen energy security and reliability, which are the foundations of the Philippines’ sustained economic growth,” said Lucci.

With an estimated net worth of $16.5 billion, Razon is the wealthiest in the Philippines, according to the World’s Billionaires List published by Forbes this month. He also has controlling stakes in global ports giant ICTSI, utility Manila Water and Bloomberry, which owns two casino resorts in Metro Manila.

© Forbes