Unifeeder Buys InterMarineContainer Lines

Unifeeder, the largest short-sea container carrier in northern Europe, acquired InterMarineContainerLines, Poland's biggest feeder shipping line.

Unifeeder, which is based in Aarhus, Denmark, did not say how much it is paying for IMCL, a unit of Cyprus-based Lemissoler Shipping Group.

The companies said they expect to close on the deal by the end of the year.

Unifeeder generated revenue of $600 million in 2008 transporting containers from major north European ports, including Rotterdam, Antwerp and Hamburg, to more than 30 regional ports across the Nordic region, the Baltic states and Russia.

Unifeeder has a fleet of 28 vessels ranging in capacity from 500 20-foot equivalent units to 1,499 TEUs.

IMCL, which is headquartered Limassol, Cyprus, booked revenue of $75 million in 2008 on routes linking Rotterdam and other major European ocean hubs to the Polish ports of Gdynia, Gdansk and Stettin as well as Riga in Latvia and Klaipeda in Lithuania. It acquired Baltic Container Lines in 2007.

"The combined entity will be able to offer our customers a more extensive and flexible service with improved coverage of the ports in the Baltic Sea," Unifeeder chief executive Jesper Kristensen said.

Unifeeder, which also operates a door-to-door multimodal service and a freight forwarding business, was acquired by the UK's Montagu Private Equity in 2007 for a reported $500 million.

Contact Bruce Barnard at brucebarnard47@hotmail.com.