At yesterday’s Q4 conference call with analysts, Hugo de Stoop, the under pressure CEO of Euronav, compared the ongoing arbitration over an aborted merger with John Fredriksen’s Frontline as being like a judge deciding on who gets the house following a divorce.
A ruling is due on February 7 on the emergency arbitration filing concerning Frontline’s decision to back out of a combination deal, with another ruling on the merits of that decision coming afterwards. Last month, Frontline decided to walk away from its pursuit of a Euronav, despite both boards having agreed to the deal in July last year.
“You cannot sell the house until we have decided the outcome of the divorce and who gets what. And that’s what we are trying to have here,” de Stoop said, explaining the ongoing legal proceedings, something he said he hoped would prove a compromise between Fredriksen, Euronav management and the Saverys family, the latter being the largest shareholder in Euronav with very different opinions on the future of the Antwerp tanker giant.
The complex takeover saga, which has been rumbling on for a year, has seen de Stoop split his management team whereby some officials are focused solely on the day-to-day operations, while others deal with the corporate battle.
De Stoop stressed he was still very much in favour on greater consolidation within the tanker sector.
Analysts at investment bank Jefferies suggested yesterday that one solution being discussed to the battle between Fredriksen and the Saverys family is for a carve-out of a portion of the Euronav fleet.
