Alex Saverys-led Compagnie Maritime Belge (CMB) has said it would like to change the composition of the board and strategy at tanker firm Euronav in the wake of John Fredriksen’s Frontline deciding this week to ditch merger plans.
CMB said in a release it intends to “constructively engage” in a dialogue with Euronav’s supervisory board as the tanker giant’s largest shareholder.
The Saverys family fought Fredriksen’s takeover plans for more than a year, building up enough of a shareholding to block an full-on merger, which led Fredriksen to ditch his pursuit of Euronav this week, with the Belgian tanker’s stock price subsequently taking a hammering.
With Fredriksen now walking away from the deal, there is a potentially awkward reckoning for the current top management at Euronav, all of whom strongly backed the merger.
The Saverys family have repeatedly outlined their vision for Euronav, which involves getting the tanker company far more involved in alternative forms of energy.
