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THE
owner of the buyer of the shipping and logistics unit of
the Aboitiz group is mulling over the delisting of
Aboitiz Transport System Corp. (ATSC) from the
Philippine Stock Exchange and instead list its own
company, KGLI-NM Holdings Inc.
“Part of
the option is to delist ATS, and if it happens the other
option is to list the holding company in the future,”
Negros Navigation Co. (Nenaco) chairman Sulficio Tagud
Jr. said. “It’s just a matter of right timing and market
condition.”
KGLI-NM,
a company that was just organized in August, will become
the mother unit of both Nenaco and ATSC, operator of
brands such as SuperFerry and 2Go.
The said
move may happen by next year since the sale of ATSC to
KGLI-NM is still to be consummated following
due-diligence procedures.
“That
will be our main jobs after KGLI-NM completes the buying
out of the smaller shareholders [of ATSC]. So we will
delist it [ATSC] first, and the listing [of KGLI-NM]
will follow,” he said.
KGLI-NM
is buying the entire shares of Abotiz Equivity Ventures
(AEV) in ATSC of about 77.1 percent, and Aboitiz &
Company Inc.’s (ACO) 15.93 percent for the total amount
of about P5 billion.
The
remaining 7 percent is owned by smaller investors, but
many of whom are also part of the Aboitiz family.
AEV is
the largest shareholder in ATSC, while ACO is the
private holding company of the Aboitiz family.
The
sale, however, does not include the revenue-earning
crewing and shipbuilding businesses of the Cebu-based
Aboitiz family.
KGL,
which stands for Kuwait Gulf and Link Investment, is
listed in the Kuwait Stock Exchange. It initiated
investments in port and port-related business and other
logistics-related businesses in the Philippines.
KGLI-NM
is a domestic company which is 60-percent owned by
domestic company Negros Holdings and Management Corp.
and 40 percent by KGL Investment BV, which is a Dutch
company.
KGL
Investment is an international alternative investment
firm engaged in private equity, venture capital and
investment banking and with over 50 years of experience
in transportation, logistics, stevedoring, passenger
transport, warehousing, supply-chain management and port
operations.
KGL’s
current operations include Kuwait, the United Arab
Emirates, Jordan, Tunisia, Oman, Namibia, Morocco,
Pakistan, Germany, Ireland, the Cayman Islands,
Mauritius and Egypt.
Nenaco
was delisted in 2004 when it filed for a 10-year
rehabilitation program.
“The
Kuwaiti investors are very optimistic about the country.
[The] shipping business will continue because of the
archipelagic condition of the country, and it plays an
important role in trade,” Tagud said.
KGL has
invested a $1.025-billion mixed-use aviation-oriented
logistics complex called Global Gateway Logistics City
in Clark Field. Middle Eastern petroleum firms
accumulated huge amounts of money after world oil prices
jumped fivefold in the last few years.
The
deluge of money, however, is chasing very few assets in
the region, prompting companies to look for investments
in other areas, including in emerging markets such as
the Philippines. |
