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US investor Cerberus Capital Management and Agila NY Naval Inc./Agila South are set to take over the former Hanjin shipyard at Subic
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Cerberus will acquire the facility for US$300 million and lease parts of the property to locators, a report said
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Philippine Navy will be one of the property’s tenants occupying the northern yard
US private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management and Agila NY Naval Inc./Agila South Inc. will take over the former Hanjin shipyard at Subic, according to Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA).
Newly-appointed SBMA chair and administrator Rolen Paulino Sr. disclosed this development in his speech during the recent turnover and oath-taking ceremony as new head of the operator of the free port zone. He took over from Atty Wilma Eisma on March 1.
Paulino said Presidential Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea had told him to continue what former chair and administrator Wilma Eisma, had started: “Ang sabi niya, ‘yung tinapos ni Ma’am Amy (Eisma) ay ituloy natin (He said what Eisma started we should continue), which is yung Cerberus, Agila. Ito po yung papalit sa (They will replace) Hanjin.”
Cerberus describes itself as a global leader in alternative investing with about US$55 billion in assets across complementary credit, private equity, and real estate platforms. It has been described in the finance industry as a distressed investing player, as one of its core businesses is taking over non-performing loans.
Cerberus will acquire the facility for US$300 million and lease parts of it to locators, according to a Reuters report.
In a bid bulletin posted on February 1 by the Government Service Insurance System, the state-run insurer said Cerberus as SBMA locator will lease the shipyard to tenants, one of which will be the Philippine Navy, which will occupy the northern yard.
The bulletin was for bidding out the “Reinsurance of the Industrial All Risks Insurance of SBMA/Agila NY Naval Inc./Agila South Inc./Agila Services Inc.”
GSIS said the tentative date of transfer of operations was February 25.
Australian shipbuilder Austal, which had earlier shown interest in the shipyard, “is no longer a tenant/occupant”, according to the bid bulletin.
SBMA senior deputy administrator for operations Ronnie Yambao, in a webinar hosted by Subic Bay International Terminal Corp. last November, said the authority hoped to finalize agreement on the shipyard with a foreign company in the first or second quarter of 2022.
READ: SBMA bares 2022 port projects, potential shipyard foreign investor
The takeover will involve business activities such as shipbuilding, ship repair, and logistics-related services, Yambao added.
The 300-hectare area to be taken over was once occupied by Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction-Philippines Inc., which had been Subic’s biggest locator before it went bankrupt in 2019.
Several companies took interest in taking over the facility, including global port operator International Container Terminal Services, Inc. and Netherlands-based shipbuilder Damen Shipyards Group.
