Tagud steps down as Nenaco CEO; Villordon takes over

A veteran official of Aboitiz Transport Systems Corp. (ATS) has been appointed president and CEO of Negros Navigation Co. Inc. (Nenaco), now the country’s biggest shipping company.

In a disclosure earlier this week, the company said Ramon Villordon has been named president of ATS and its parent firm, Nenaco.

Villordon, who will replace Sulficio Tagud Jr. as president of Nenaco, will also get a seat on the ATS board. Tagud will remain as a member of the Nenaco board of directors.

Prior to assuming his new post, Villordon served as head of the Supercat and Cebu Ferries brands, which were operated by ATS. His appointment was approved in a board meeting on June 1.

“The Board passed the resolutions as part of the implementation of its integration plan with its parent company, Nenaco,” ATS said in its disclosure.

Nenaco completed its acquisition of ATS, which was previously its biggest rival, in December of last year for P4.28 billion.

Nenaco was able to buy ATS thanks to an equity investment from China-Asean Marine BV, a private equity fund sponsored by China Export-Import Bank.

Excluded from the sale were the Aboitiz family’s interests in Aboitiz Jebsen Bulk Transport Corp., Aboitiz Jebsen Manpower Solutions Inc. and Jebsen Maritime Inc. The three firms, which are joint ventures between the Aboitiz family and Norwegian Jebsen group, were acquired by holding firm Aboitiz Equity Ventures.

Nenaco’s parent firm KGLI-NM Holdings Inc., a company owned by Kuwaiti Gulf Link Investments, in 2009 made an offer to buy the Aboitiz family’s century-old transport business. However, the deal fell through after the Kuwaiti group’s finances were strained by the recent financial crisis.