2GO revamps board; takes in Uy, 3 others
Businessman Dennis Uy, CEO of Phoenix Petroleum, has joined the board of logistics giant 2GO Group Inc. amid a bruising legal battle with another major shareholder, led by the Tagud family, which refused to recognize his group’s interests in the company.
2GO Tuesday announced a board revamp, following a meeting Monday, wherein Uy and three others cornered four out of nine seats on the board that include three independent directors.
Elected to the board, the company said, were Uy, Elmer Serrano, Jose Amorado, and Joseph Tan. They replaced the four board members who resigned: Li Wen, Patrick Ip, Nelson Yap and Mark Williams.
2GO president and CEO Sulficio O. Tagud Jr. kept his seat this week, as did the three independent directors: chair Francis Chua, Raul Rabe and Monico Jacob.
A spokesperson for Uy, 2GO and the Tagud family did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Tuesday.
The board revamp, which gave Uy significant influence over 2GO, followed a legal suit that was launched by his group last October.
Uy wanted to be recognized as a shareholder of 2GO after his holding firm, Udenna Corp., acquired one of 2GO’s major overseas investors, KGL Investments B.V.
KGL Investments has since changed its name to Udenna Investments.
As a result, Udenna said it had indirectly acquired a 21-percent voting interest and 28-percent beneficial interest in 2GO, a listed firm with a market value of P18.1 billion.
Tagud’s camp, citing a shareholders’ agreement, argued they were not properly informed of the transaction, thus, they could not yet recognize Udenna as a shareholder.
Udenna then sued the Tagud family’s Negros Holdings Management Corp. and KGLI-NM Holdings Inc. before the Regional Trial Court of Manila on Oct. 13, 2016. The court decided on Nov. 28, 2016 that the case be suspended and the parties to proceed to arbitration.
KGL Investments/Udenna Investments and Negros Holdings are joint owners of KGLI-NM Holdings Inc. which, in turn, controls 60 percent of the voting shares of Negros Navigation Co.
