It has paid off for 1300 private shareholders that the large institutional investors chose to take them under their wing during the lengthy negotiations about the aftermath of OW Bunker’s bankruptcy in November 2014.

”It’s not always that such small ownership positions are included in the negotiations. But the large investors have been fair and insisted that the small investors should also be included in the settlement - even though we were not directly at the negotiating table,” says Mikael Bak, CEO of the Danish Shareholders’ Association to AMWatch’s sister media FinansWatch.

The total settlement amount is DKK 645m (EUR 86.5m). The vast majority of this money will go to ATP and PFA and the other major investors, including foreign institutional investors, who were left holding the bag in OW Bunker’s bankruptcy.

The OW Bunker Association has a total of approximately 3000 private investors as members. Of these, around 1,300 investors were involved in the lawsuit that led to the settlement. According to Bak, this group accounted for less than 10% of the total settlement amount.

”Even though we may have been the small players in a big game, it doesn’t change the fact that this is a great result, both for the investors and for the Danish Shareholders’ Association. It shows that the many years of struggle and waiting have been worth the effort,” says Bak.

He explains that part of the settlement text is that the parties do not disclose the percentage of compensation.

”But I have to say that it’s a significant part, and it can be felt,” he adds.

Important date

There are several reasons why Bak is not shouting his victory from the rooftoops.

Firstly, the case has stretched over more than eight years, and at times it looked like the earliest it could be closed in court was sometime during 2026.

Secondly, more than 1,700 of the OW Bunker Association’s members are excluded from the large settlement.

”The settlement only includes just over 1,300 private shareholders who in 2018 got the court’s word that they could join the class action under free process because they had bought shares in OW Bunker before June 3, 2014. At that time, the High Court decided that the shareholders who bought shares in OW Bunker later could not be included in the lawsuit, and thus not in the settlement,” explains Bak.

According to Bak, the OW Bunker Association is already investigating what options these 1700 shareholders have to assert their claims in other ways.

Room for improvement

Bak has been working to find a solution for the private investors in OW Bunker for the past six years.

”There have been times when I didn’t think we would reach a conclusion. But it has been important to fight on and fight on together for many reasons,” says Bak.

He particularly emphasizes the strength of fighting together. Partly because the small shareholders have fought together through the Danish Shareholders’ Association and partly because the very large investors have been willing to include the small ones in the settlement.

”We must have faith in our stock market and our legal system. I’m pleased with the settlement, but I also want future cases to be handled faster and more smoothly than what happened with OW Bunker,” says Bak.

(This article was provided by our Danish sister media, FinansWatch. Translated using DeepL with additional editing by Catherine Brett)