Baleària has signed agreements with the owners of Armas Trasmediterránea to acquire its operations in the Canary Islands, the Alborán Sea and part of the Strait of Gibraltar, most of which has already been acquired by the Danish group DFDS, according to the company's release.
The deal, still subject to approval from the Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia (CNMC), would involve the management of 15 ferries and the integration of 1,500 employees from land and fleet operations.
According to Baleària president Adolfo Utor, the agreements are strategic, giving the company the scale needed to compete in a market dominated by large transnational groups.
Utor said: “If this operation were executed, it would contribute to allowing a local shipping company to continue competing efficiently with the newly arrived large shipping groups that already operate in our waters.” Utor also noted that, with CNMC approval, Baleària would continue the legacy of Trasmediterránea and Naviera Armas: “Baleària would take up the baton of the historic Trasmediterránea and the Armas shipping company, so deeply rooted and valued in the Canary Islands, and with the synergies generated consolidate the presence of a competitive local shipping company.”
Baleària is a Spanish shipping company established in 1998, headquartered in Dénia, Alicante. It operates passenger and cargo ferries across routes connecting mainland Spain, the Balearic Islands, North Africa, and the Caribbean.
Naviera Armas Trasmediterránea is a Spanish shipping group formed after Naviera Armas acquired Trasmediterránea in 2018. Trasmediterránea, founded in 1917, historically operated ferry routes linking mainland Spain with the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, and North Africa.
DFDS A/S is a publicly traded Danish shipping and logistics company founded in 1866 and headquartered in Copenhagen. It operates a wide network of ferry routes and logistics services across Europe.