Scandlines owners may sell the German ferry line
The joint owners of Scandlines are mulling the sale of Germany’s biggest ferry line in 2013 in a move likely accelerate the consolidation of the North European and Baltic short sea shipping market, the Journal of Commerce reports.
3i, a London-listed private equity group, and Allianz Capital Partners, a unit of German insurance giant Allianz, are said to have put a 1.4 billion euros [$1.8 billion] price on the company.
The two partners and minority investor German shipowner Deutsche Seerederei bought Scandlines from the German and Danish state railways for nearly $2 billion in 2007. They bought out Deutsche Seerederei’s 20 percent stake in 2010.
The planned sale, which is likely to attract interest from established short sea shipping lines and private equity firms, follows Scandlines recent exit from the Baltic Sea freight market to focus on passengers.
Five Baltic Sea routes were sold to Sweden’s Stena Line for an undisclosed amount in May followed by the sale of two routes and three roll-on, roll-off vessels to Swedish Orient Line in August.
Scandlines carried 830,000 trucks and trailers, 2.7 million cars and 12 million passengers between Germany, Denmark and Sweden in 2011. It booked a net profit of $13 million and an operating profit $237 million on revenue of $795 million.