Alexander Saverys is not giving up on plans to take Euronav away from tankers and into clean shipping.
The chief executive of Belgium’s CMB, the biggest shareholder in Euronav together with his family’s holding company Saverco, plans to make life difficult for the VLCC and suezmax giant as it seeks a merger with John Fredriksen’s Frontline.
Saverys has already told TradeWinds he plans to oust the Euronav board to stop the deal.
Now he has told the Financial Times that the transaction is pointless for Euronav shareholders.
“What’s in it for Euronav? Nothing,” he said.
“We see this company is not heading in the right direction. We hate to see things we’ve built go in the wrong direction,” he added.
Saverys claimed he has “more than one string in his bow” to halt the deal, including recruiting other investors to his cause, increasing the Saverys family’s own stake from 13.22% and continuing to explain his alternative strategy.
“Our stake is already sizeable. It will not be impossible for them to push it through but it will be difficult,” Saverys said.
The aim is to combine Euronav with CMB. Tech, a CMB unit working on designs for ships powered by hydrogen and ammonia, as well as distribution networks for future fuels.
Euronav and Frontline have not yet finalised the level of shareholder support the merger will need.
‘Incompatible’
Euronav CEO Hugo De Stoop has said Saverys’ proposals were “incompatible” with his company’s business model. He believes demand for oil transport will remain high for decades yet.
Saverys also laid into analysts who have backed the deal due to a likely reduction in interest levels.
“If the longevity of your company is based on a 30-basis point reduction of your debt, then where’s your future?” he said.
“I don’t believe in this pure-play model . . . In this day and age if we want to decarbonise, we need to diversify,” the CEO added.
A clear no
Saverys told TradeWinds that CMB had discussions with the board and management on the decarbonisation plans, but "they clearly said no - because they didn’t believe this would be something that works for them.”
Everything points to a crunch AGM meeting on 19 May.
The Euronav/Frontline project would result in a company with a market capitalisation of more than $4.2bn, with a fleet of 69 VLCCs and 57 suezmaxes, plus 20 LR2/aframaxes.
Saverys believes it is credible that other shareholders will rally to the family’s decarbonisation flag.
“We have a strong Belgian shareholding base, which has a more long-term view than some US companies that just use Euronav as a proxy for trading oil,” he told TradeWinds.
“Hence that stock has never really traded to the true value of the company,” he added.
