Euronav published its fourth quarter results today with a conference call from Antwerp due early this afternoon. The very solid results – with a net profit of $234.7m the best returns since the middle of 2020 – have been overshadowed by the ongoing takeover saga that has put top management at the tanker firm in an awkward position with competing interests from John Fredriksen and the Saverys family.
Both the boards of Frontline and Euronav agreed to a combination in July last year, a merger that became more problematic when the Saverys family built up a stake that was large enough to block any full merger of the two tanker companies. Last month, Fredriksen decided to pull the plug on merger plans, while the Saverys family moved to get the entire Euronav board replaced.
Hugo De Stoop, CEO of Euronav, commented today: “Whilst we regret the current situation, we will continue to act professionally and to work to a solution which is in the interests of all of our shareholders and stakeholders.”
In the quarterly earnings report published today it was revealed that the supervisory board of Euronav has reached out to Famatown, a Fredriksen investment vehicle, to try and maintain a constructive dialogue.
Regarding the Saverys family’s keenness to get the Euronav board replaced, the company stated that an immediate and abrupt replacement of the board, without any transitioning or succession planning, was not a good idea.
