Bruce Barnard, Special Correspondent | Jul 12, 2012 3:00PM EDT
German competition regulators approved the acquisition by Sweden’s Stena Line of five Baltic Sea freight routes from German rival Scandlines, accelerating the consolidation of the one of Europe’s fastest growing short-sea shipping markets.
Stena Line CEO Gunnar Blomdahl said the company expects to close on the deal, which includes the purchase of two Scandlines ships, during August.
Stena said the acquisition of the five, largely freight oriented routes between Germany, Sweden and Latvia, will boost annual revenue by around $145 million to a projected $1.7 billion in 2013.
The Gothenburg-based company did not say how much it is paying Scandlines.
Stena Line is one of Europe’s biggest ferry operators with a fleet of 35 ships that transported 1.6 million trucks and trailers on 19 routes across the U.K. and Scandinavia in 2011.
Scandlines, jointly owned by 3i, a U.K. private equity fund, and German insurer Allianz, transported 830,000 trucks and trailers in 2011, but plans to focus on passengers in the future.
Contact Bruce Barnard at brucebarnard47@hotmail.com.
