George Economou has moved to delay the upcoming annual shareholders meeting at US-listed Greek capesize bulker specialist Seanergy Maritime.
The Greek shipping magnate, who, via his affiliated investment vehicle, owns about 9% of Seanergy, launched a proxy fight in June, naming John Liveris and Georgios Kokkodis as his board picks just a few months after suing the company, its boss and chairman Stamatis Tsantanis, and other directors for allegedly seizing control of the company by creating “super-voting” shares.
Economou is seeking to cancel the preferred stock that grants Tsantanis 49.99% of the voting power over Seanergy and to declassify the current board of directors, whom he claims have cemented themselves at the company’s top and deprived other stockholders of voting.
The latest development in the Seanergy saga has seen Sphinx file a request in the Marshall Islands High Court for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to halt the vote at a scheduled date and block Tsantanis in the board of directors vote scheduled for November 4.
Specifically, Sphinx complained that the shareholder meeting was set before the High Court was scheduled to hold a hearing in Economou’s lawsuit against Seanergy, which, amongst other things, seeks to invalidate the shares that Tsantanis currently holds.
“In the view of the reporting persons, holding the 2024 annual meeting at such time under such circumstances renders it legally impossible for anyone other than the issuer’s board nominees to win the election and will suppress the turnout of the non-insider stockholders at the 2024 annual meeting,” Sphinx claimed, adding that the meeting should be held 60 days after the case against Seanergy is closed.
Athens-based Seanergy, which operates a fleet of 19 ships on a fully delivered basis, said it plans to press ahead with the vote and will address Economou’s motion in court.
The company earlier urged shareholders to dismiss Economou’s proposals and nominees to the board, warning that his actions are similar to the “coercive tactics” he has deployed at other shipping companies over the last year, including US-listed Greek tanker owner Performance Shipping, where a legal battle and a tender offer for the company’s all outstanding shares is still active.
“We believe Economou’s last-minute attempt to delay our regularly scheduled annual meeting is simply another step to advance his self-interested attempt to gain effective control over the company’s board and its corporate strategy,” Seanergy said.
Energy News Beat