CMB holds more than 88% of Euronav after share-buys close

Saverys-linked shareholdings now consist of more than 88% of Euronav shares.

During the public takeover bid, more than 69.2M shares in Euronav (31.47% of outstanding shares), were tendered, with over 23.5M shares tendered in the US and more than 45.6M shares tendered in Belgium.

CMB now holds more than 177.1M shares in Euronav, representing 80.51% of the total issued shares. Adding to that total the more than 17.7M treasury shares held by Euronav and the 24,400 shares held by Saverco NV, CMB said, "The bidder and persons affiliated with it together will hold 194,962,415 shares, representing 88.61% of the issued shares in Euronav".

Payment of the offer price for the tendered shares will take place on 3 April 2024, the company said.

In early March, FourWorld filed requests for injunctions against the share takeover in both US and Belgian courts.

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 had launched a mandatory public takeover bid on all Euronav shares in the US in February, and the FourWorld complaint alleged, among other things, that CMB violated Section 14 (e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. CMB said the claims were "without merit".

US and Belgian courts dismissed the cases brought by FourWorld, and the takeover bid closed as scheduled in both territories. 

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.