CMB: Euronav takeover 'will close as scheduled'

Update: CMB has now confirmed that the Market Court in Belgium has denied a request from funds managed by US investment group FourWorld Capital Management in connection with CMB’s Belgian offer to take over Euronav’s shareholdings.

"Both the US offer and the Belgian offer have closed earlier today as scheduled. CMB will announce the results of the offers at the latest on March 22nd, in accordance with the offering materials," a statement from CMB said.

14 March

CMB said the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York had denied a motion filed by "certain funds managed by FourWorld Capital Management" in connection with CMB’s US offer to purchase all outstanding ordinary shares of Euronav NV from US shareholders.

"The court denied FourWorld’s request for injunctive relief that would have restrained CMB from completing the US offer on the basis of the offering materials disseminated by CMB. Both the US offer and the Belgian offer will close as scheduled on 15 March," CMB said.

In early March, FourWorld filed requests for injunctions against the share takeover in both US and Belgian courts. CMB’s statement did not directly address the injunction request filed in Belgian court apart from noting that its Belgian share-buy would close as scheduled.

According to CMB, FourWorld Capital Management filed a request in a Belgian court claiming CMB’s offer price was "too low" and requesting an adjustment to the bid price.

FourWorld filed the request with the Market Court in Belgium, asking the court, according to CMB, "to (i) determine that the price of the mandatory offer is too low as it does not take into account alleged special benefits that would have been granted to Frontline on top of the cash purchase price paid by CMB for its Euronav shares, and (ii) to order CMB to adjust the bid price taking into account such alleged special benefits. The request does not indicate what this higher price should be."

An earlier lawsuit filed in US District Court on 1 March claimed CMB violated US Securities and Exchange Commission rules, alleging the company disseminated "false and misleading" materials about the share offer.

CMB said FourWorld Capital Management had filed a complaint in a New York District Court alleging that CMB violated the US Securities Exchange Act in its offer to purchase all outstanding ordinary shares of Euronav from US shareholders.

CMB had launched a mandatory public takeover bid on all Euronav shares in the US, and the FourWorld complaint alleged, among other things, that CMB violated Section 14 (e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by disseminating false and misleading materials relating to the US offer. 

Calling itself a Securities Exchange Commission-registered investment adviser "focusing on event-driven investment opportunities with particular focus on tax, legal and regulatory catalysts," FourWorld had, according to CMB, upped its stake in the company since the completion of Euronav’s acquisition of CMB.TECH.