John Fredriksen has once again increased his stake in Belgian tanker owner Euronav to become the joint-biggest shareholder.

The Frontline backer acquired another 4.785m shares in the VLCC and suezmax player to equal the Saverys family’s stake of 24.99%.

This level of ownership is crucial under Belgium law as it is enough to block a full legal merger with another company.

The Saverys clan used its holding to scupper a tie-up between Frontline and Euronav earlier this month, but instead of selling out, Fredriksen has doubled down on his interest in the rival owner.

The Saverys family has in the past mooted a merger between Euronav and its clean shipping company CMB.Tech, but Fredriksen can now torpedo this.

Euronav currently has two major shareholding groups with different strategies, both able to block the other’s merger plans.

And neither shareholder appears well disposed to the company’s management, which backed the merger against the wishes of the Saverys family and is now seeking an injunction to halt Frontline’s exit from the deal.

The Saverys are also trying to oust the supervisory board, a move which Fredriksen could now make more difficult.

A similar bid to install new directors failed last year.

Fredriksen would have spent $74.2m on his latest stock acquisition based on a price of $15.50 in New York.

His stake in the $3.14bn company is worth $785m.

Will stakes increase?

A couple of weeks ago, the Fredriksen holding stood at 17.78% after he sold 1% before news broke of the merger collapse.

It is possible either side could seek to increase their ownership, but reaching 30% would trigger a mandatory bid for the company, opening up a whole other can of worms.

The Euronav stock is now significantly more illiquid than it was before Fredriksen invested in 2021 and the Saverys began building their holding back up as a response.