AmericasOffshore

Tidewater says merger pressure is behind shareholder board nominations

Offshore vessel operator Tidewater claims that board nominations submitted by Ravenswood Investment, a unit controlled by Robert Robotti, are designed to push the company into a merger.

Ravenswood Investment filed a nomination notice with Tidewater earlier this week, notifying the company’s board that it intends to nominate three persons for election as directors. Tidewater claimed that it has evaluated and interviewed one of the candidates nominated by Ravenswood, and found that the candidate is the former general counsel of a competitor company in which Robotti has a financial interest.

“He (Robotti) has repeatedly tried to pressure Tidewater to merge with this competitor. This conflict of interest is a serious concern,” Tidewater said in stock filing.

The company said it will review and consider Ravenswood’s notice in accordance with its bylaws and applicable law.

Robotti owns a stake of about 7.7% in Tidewater, making him the fourth largest shareholder in the company.

Jason Jiang

Jason is one of the most prolific writers on the diverse China shipping & logistics industry and his access to the major maritime players with business in China has proved an invaluable source of exclusives. Having been working at Asia Shipping Media since inception, Jason is the chief correspondent of Splash and associate editor of Maritime CEO magazine. Previously he had written for a host of titles including Supply Chain Asia, Cargo Facts and Air Cargo Week.
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