This is a legacy page. Please click here to view the latest version.
Tue 20 Feb 2018, 09:23 GMT

Aegean shareholder group 'gravely concerned' by board's 'silence'


Committee for Aegean Accountability says it intends to serve the company with a books and records request.



The Committee for Aegean Accountability - a group of long-term shareholders of bunker supplier Aegean Marine Petroleum who collectively control around 12 percent of the company - issued a statement on Monday to the chairman of the company's board of directors.

Below is the statement issued by Committee leader Tyler Baron on behalf of the Committee:

We are deeply disappointed by the Board's lack of response to our nomination of four highly qualified candidates for election to the Board at the 2018 Annual Meeting. The Committee has, in good faith, made repeated efforts at constructive engagement, including a public letter to the Company in December. To date, these efforts have been met with silence and dismissal from the Board. Unfortunately, this is consistent with the Board's established pattern of inadequately addressing the concerns of the very shareholders for which it has a fiduciary duty to represent, a pattern which required the formation of the Committee to begin with and has persisted.

A foundational principle of corporate governance is that the owners of a company are vested with the power to choose who will best represent their interests and uphold the fiduciary duties to which the board of directors is bound. The Committee's nominations present shareholders with a compelling choice to restore accountability to the Board and unlock substantial shareholder value. Based on extensive feedback from shareholders, the Committee is confident that its views are broadly shared. We look forward to soliciting votes in favor of the election of our slate of four highly qualified nominees to restore credibility on the Board and effect long-overdue changes at the Company.

The Committee would like to remind the Board that while the majority of its members are based in Greece, the Company is subject to the applicable laws and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the New York Stock Exchange and the Republic of the Marshall Islands, where the Company is domiciled. This Board's troubling history of related party transactions that benefit Founder Dimitris Melissanidis at the expense of shareholders makes us gravely concerned that the Board's silence means it is contemplating a transaction designed to dilute shareholder influence at Aegean. We caution the Board against any attempt to suppress the voting rights of shareholders through a dilutive transaction.

The Committee can only interpret the Board's lack of meaningful response as a further indication of its entrenchment, and absent any communication, we intend to serve the Company with a books and records request to determine the full extent of the Board's involvement in related party dealings. As always, however, we remain ready and willing to engage in constructive discussions with the Company at all times.


Keel-laying ceremony of an LNG carrier and bunker vessel hull no. S-1123. Avenir lays keel for new LNG carrier and bunkering vessel  

Marine fuel supplier has commenced construction of Hull No. S-1123 as part of its newbuild programme.

Hydrogen production unit. Aurora Hydrogen secures $3m from Oldendorff Overseas Investments for hydrogen production  

Investment advances microwave-driven methane pyrolysis technology that produces hydrogen from natural gas.

Electric ferry charging infrastructure. Corvus Energy and Beyonder sign MoU to develop maritime battery systems  

Norwegian companies to explore next-generation energy storage solutions for shipping sector decarbonisation.

Avenir Ascension vessel. Anew Climate and Avenir complete first joint bio-LNG bunkering in Europe  

Partnership delivers waste-based bio-LNG from Lithuania to Swedish ferry operator via Klaipėda terminal.

Flex Commodities logo. Flex Commodities changes legal suffix from DMCC to FZCO under Dubai naming framework  

Administrative change aligns marine fuel trader with new UAE free zone company naming conventions.

Capu Rossu vessel. Stena RoRo takes delivery of 13th E-Flexer vessel from Chinese shipyard  

Capu Rossu handed over to Corsica Linea for Marseille-Corsica route starting mid-June.

Caspar Gooren, Titan. Titan Clean Fuels signs e-methane supply deal with TURN2X for 2028 delivery  

Bunker supplier to receive e-methane from Spanish production plant for distribution across European ports.

Hydrogen-fuelled engine 6UEC35LSGH. Japan consortium achieves hydrogen co-firing in main engine for large commercial vessel  

Engine reaches over 95% hydrogen co-firing ratio, with installation planned for 2027.

BTB bunker truck. Belgian Trading & Bunkering expands DMA 0.89 truck deliveries in ARA region  

BTB extends marine fuel offerings with truck-based deliveries to meet maritime market demand.

Fuel pathway roundtable meeting participants. ABS convenes roundtable on offshore power barge for Great Lakes emissions reduction  

Meeting brought together ports, academia and industry to advance shore power solution under EPA programme.


↑  Back to Top