Will the merger between Euronav and Frontline finally create a shipping stock that is large enough to be attractive to equity investors? The topic forms this month’s in-depth feature in the May issue of Splash Extra featuring the thoughts of many well-known names including Evercore ISI analyst Jonathan Chappell, as well as favourable analysis from the likes of Clarksons Platou and Drewry and Stifel’s Ben Nolan.
Nevertheless, there are a host of experts questioning whether it is really market cap that stands in the way of shipping being taken seriously in the equity markets with former Euronav supremo Paddy Rodgers among those contributing to the debate, which was initially sparked by Dr Roar Adland, professor of shipping at the Norwegian School of Economics, on a widely read LinkedIn post in which he took shipping’s bad governance to task as well as the inherent high-risk nature of the business.
Philippe van den Abeele, founder and head of investments at Consortium Maritime Trading, weighed in on the issue, stating: “Fundamentally stock market players don’t trust the way these companies are managed due to lack of transparency, conflict of interests and off-market deals.”
The issue is set for further discussion in the next issue of Maritime CEO magazine, due to be published next week.
Published on the last Wednesday of every month and priced for as little as $200 a year, Splash Extra serves as a concise monthly snapshot, ensuring readers are on top of where the shipping markets are headed.
To access the May issue, click here. For more details on Splash Extra subscriptions, click here.
