Euronav’s conference call with analysts turned into a philosophical debate on love and marriage as Hugo De Stoop took questions on the failed merger with Frontline.
The Belgian tanker owner’s chief executive sought to explain ongoing arbitration over the junked transaction with the John Fredriksen company by using an analogy about divorce.
He asked analysts to imagine that a couple is splitting up and the husband has the title to the house.
“He doesn’t know what the judgment decides, whether his wife will stay in the house or have the house. If he sells, then there is nothing left, maybe the money, but maybe he can spend it,” the CEO said.
He explained that an emergency judgment like the one due for Euronav on 7 February will decide whether the husband can sell the house before the outcome of divorce proceedings.
“It’s to see what should be frozen until there is a judgment on the fundamental aspects,” he told the call.
De Stoop then pondered whether you should start a new relationship if the person you wanted to marry suddenly does not want to marry you.
“Does that mean you should profoundly dislike this person?” he asked.
“I’ve seen many occasions when a wedding is cancelled but maybe three months later people get married anyhow.
“Maybe there was a misunderstanding, maybe there was something they were not ready for.
Mother-in-law welcome?
“Maybe we change the place of the wedding, maybe we change the orchestra, maybe we don’t invite the mother-in-law.
“This idea that because you no longer want to marry at a certain point, it’s forever, and that this person you were in love with becomes an enemy is not something that is part of our philosophy at Euronav.”
The CEO also revealed that complicated calculations are being made about potential compensation from the ending of the combination agreement by Frontline.
This is more complex than simply buying an asset, he explained, because the deal involved exchanging shares.
There has been analyst speculation that warring shareholders Fredriksen and the Saverys family’s CMB could somehow split Euronav along the lines of their own specific interests.
Compromise needed
But De Stoop had no comment when asked if CMB has been in touch to outline its future strategy.
“It’s up to them to express what they would do if the [arbitration] outcome is favourable to them,” he said.
“We are trying to find solutions to the problems; there are three parties around the table. We are not the type of people who say: ‘We are all enemies and let’s go to war’.”
De Stoop maintained that every problem has a solution: “As long as the three parties have the same attitude, I’m sure we will find a very positive outcome for all the shareholders. When, I don’t know. How, I don’t know.”
But he also explained that a compromise would means nobody ends up with the perfect result.
