In a letter to Crown's board of directors that was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Paul A. Novelly, who with his Apex partners holds nearly 15 percent of Crown's Class A voting shares, proposed earlier this month that the companies combine. He said he would run it for three years, ousting Henry A. Rosenberg Jr., Crown's chairman, chief executive and president, who has run the company for 33 years. Crown executives would not comment on the offer, other than to say it will be considered. Rosenberg declined to be interviewed. Little is known about Apex, which fervently guards its privacy, including its assets and how it might complement Crown.
Analysts are hard-pressed to say whether the proposal makes sense.
But they do say Crown can't continue on its current path. Hard to sell Some of the factors that have contributed to the refiner's poor performance are likely to make selling its assets difficult. One in Tyler with a capacity of 52,000 barrels per day, and one in Pasadena, just outside Houston, that can process 100,000 barrels per day. The Tyler operation is considered minuscule compared to other facilities. The Pasadena refinery is in the middle of a hotbed of competition.