Longtime directors Gregorio Araneta III, Alfonso M. Araneta, and Luis M. Araneta formally resigned from the board effective Dec. 22, 2025, in line with the first closing conditions of the transaction.
Private investment firm Nexora Holdings recently announced the purchase of 34 percent of PhilWeb, granting it three seats on the board and making it the company’s single-largest shareholder.
PhilWeb shares gained 3.4 percent to P6.10 per share on Monday morning, contributing to gains of over 340 percent this year.
Who's coming in?
Their exits cleared the way for a new slate of directors, with Ernesto Cojuangco Lagdameo III, Jacob Policarpio, and Bob Huang elected as replacement directors on the same day.
Huang brings more than 15 years of international gaming and sports betting experience, having held senior roles at bet365, where he helped build in-play trading, fraud supervision, and operational risk control functions.
Lagdameo adds deep finance and banking credentials, having previously served in senior roles at JP Morgan Chase in New York and Manila, and currently serving as chief financial officer of VOXP Technologies and Innovations and Telepondo, as well as treasurer of Buenaventura Echauz and Partners.
Policarpio, meanwhile, brings an operator’s perspective as managing partner of TABAC Inc. and proprietor and general manager of Flavors of the Kitchen, where he oversees strategy, financial performance, and day-to-day operations across multiple sectors.
The board also elevated Crisanto Roy B. Alcid from vice chair to chair.
This forms part of the full exit of the Araneta group, culminating in the sale of its remaining 24 percent stake to Nexora Holdings and another firm called Velora Holdings.
—Edited by Miguel R. Camus
