Aegean Marine Petroleum's $367m deal for HEC Europe is getting a poor reception from investors as Aegean's shares fell by over one-third today.

An activist investor group is dismissing the deal as a ploy to entrench the current board of directors through the return of founder Dimitris Melisanidis.

As reported earlier in TradeWinds, Aegean Marine is acquiring Melisanidis' HEC, which specialises in oily waste treatment services, in an effort to diversify away from the increasingly competitive bunker market.