Hugo De Stoop says his continued leadership of Euronav is the “least of my concerns” following the collapse of the Frontline merger.
The chief executive told TradeWinds that the Belgian tanker giant would not make any immediate further comment until a full analysis of the failed merger.
But pressed on his own future following his public disagreement with Euronav’s biggest shareholder, the Saverys’ CMB shipping company, over the merger, he said: “It’s the least of my concerns.
“We will not make any further comments until we have analysed more in depth the reasons for termination and whether or not it’s compatible with the combination agreement.”
Euronav said on Tuesday that Frontline had “unilaterally” decided to terminate the combination agreement signed last July.
It said it will examine the letter sent by Frontline and “reserves all rights and actions in this respect”.
Frontline scrapped the deal to form the world's biggest crude tanker company after market close in New York on Monday.
The Saverys family has said relations have remained cordial with De Stoop despite professional disagreements over the merger.
In December, the family ensured that a full legal merger could not go through by securing a blocking stake of 25% in Euronav.
Respect on both sides
Alexander Saverys, the chief executive of CMB, told TradeWinds at the time: “Hugo has been very close to us, and is still very close to us. We hired him as CEO. We agree to disagree professionally, which is fine.”
There is a lot of respect on both sides, he added: “It’s always been polite. We are not going to shout at each other.”
CMB has been contacted for further comment.
In May, the Saverys company tried but failed to oust the Euronav board to try to halt the merger.
An annual general meeting of investors supported Euronav’s own nominations for the five-strong supervisory board and rejected the Saverys’ three proposals.
Shareholder support?
This suggests De Stoop may still have majority shareholder backing for his strategy, although the Saverys family will remain keen to discuss the direction of the company further.
CMB had proposed a tie-up with its own clean shipping operation CMB.Tech last year, but this was not an immediate priority for Alexander Saverys by December.
The halting of the merger constitutes a coup for the family, which has thrown hundreds of millions of dollars in cash and loans at buying Euronav shares in recent months.
And it has profited hugely from the deals, as the stock price has risen 50% since last January.
But following the Frontline announcement the shares fell as much as 20%.
Questions will now be asked about whether the family will sell some of its holding, or whether that would reopen the door to another merger attempt.
