Finnish Rettig Group Ltd is divesting its RoRo shipping business Bore Ltd, including its activities, employees and the entire fleet of nine RoRo vessels, to the Netherlands-based ship manager Spliethoff Group.
The all-cash deal, which does not require any approval by competition authorities, is expected to close on June 30, 2016, when Bore Ltd will become a part of Spliethoff.
The nine RoRo vessels are chartered to line operators that transport cargo in the North Sea, the Baltic Sea, the Mediterranean and the Carribean.
“Over the last years, the RoRo segment has become an important part of the Spliethoff Group activities via group member Transfennica, which offers fast scheduled liner services between the Continent and Finland with short transit times. With Bore joining our group we can further strengthen our position in this part of the market and develop new opportunities,” said Michael van den Heuvel, CCO of the Spliethoff Group.
“Becoming part of the pure shipping company Spliethoff, Bore will be able to develop the fleet and business to meet future challenges within the tough shipping market,” said Håkan Modig, CEO of Bore.
Spliethoff currently manages a fleet of 50 multipurpose, geared, tweendeck vessels, ranging from 11,000 to 23,000 DWT which all fly the Dutch flag.
The Spliethoff Group, which consists of the heavy lift operator BigLift Shipping, Ro-Ro operator Transfennica, Finland’s provider of logistic services for the forestry industry and shortsea specialist Wijnne Barends, operates about 100 vessels.