While international investors may have been struggling to place Euronav following its transformation from tanker giant and takeover target to future-focused shipping company, the Saverys family has secured an unexpected success in its native Belgium.
The now diversified giant and self-styled “only investable green shipping platform” will be promoted to the prestigious BEL 20 index of the country’s 20 biggest listed companies on the Euronext exchange from 18 March.
Euronav, with a market cap of €3.29bn ($3.58bn), will be rubbing shoulders with fellow BEL 20 luminaries such as brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev and lender ING on the benchmark index.
The list currently stands at 19 companies. However, being big is not enough on its own to guarantee inclusion for a new entrant.
Companies must meet a set of criteria proving them to be “representative of the Belgian equity market”, and at least 15% of shares must be considered a free float.
Chief executive Alexander Saverys noted that 2024 is the 20th anniversary of Euronav’s listing on Euronext Brussels.
“The inclusion in the BEL 20 comes a bit as a surprise, but we are very proud and happy to be included in the 20 most prominent shares on the Brussels stock exchange,” he added.
“We have always said that we wanted to remain listed and this news strengthens our ambition,” he added.
Euronav sold off 24 modern VLCCs to John Fredriksen’s Frontline at the end of last year, as part of a deal that saw the Saverys family take control of the Belgian tanker company.
That deal broke an 18-month standoff between Saverys and Fredriksen and an intense debate over who had come out on top following the public battle.
Since reshaping the company, the Saverys family has been working hard to convince investors of its strategic plan for the new Euronav.
At an investor day in January, where a grand design for orders for 120 more low-carbon tankers, bulkers and container ships were revealed, Saverys said he believed the combined group can be “the only investable diversified green shipping platform for ESG funds”.
At the same time, international analysts were asking what happens when the biggest crude player is no longer a tanker investment?
Merger going ahead
The operation is now merging with the Saverys’ clean shipping operation CMB.Tech, which will lead to a diversification of the fleet into boxships, bulkers and offshore.
“After the acquisition of CMB.Tech in February, we want to be the reference in sustainable shipping with a clear focus on growing our diversified fleet,” the CEO said.
The family’s other shipping company, Compagnie Maritime Belge, is in the middle of a mandatory offer for the rest of Euronav’s shares.
But this deal has run into trouble in the shape of legal action launched to halt it in the US and Belgium by New York fund FourWorld Capital Management.
The stock was up 0.49% in Brussels at €16.34 on Thursday. The price was €17.60 a year ago.
