Oil tanker owners Frontline and Euronav sign merger deal

OSLO (Reuters) - Frontline and rival Euronav have signed an all-stock merger deal to create a market-leading oil tanker group with 146 vessels including 68 Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs), the companies said on Monday.

The firms, which expect the merged company to have a market capitalisation of more than $4 billion and the merger to generate synergies of at least $60 million a year, first announced their intention to merge on April 7.

Shares in Oslo-listed Frontline, the smaller of the two but after which the combined group is to be named after, will be exchanged into Brussels-listed Euronav shares at a ratio of 1.45 to 1.

The combined company will be held roughly 55% by existing Euronav shareholders and 45% by existing Frontline shareholders, assuming all Euronav shares are tendered in the tender offer.

Frontline and its Famatown Finance Limited currently already own 18.8% of the total outstanding shares in Euronav, it said.

(Reporting by Victoria Klesty, editing by Gwladys Fouche)