Brittany Ferries makes bid to acquire rival
Ferry Online Travel News 19/03/2009
The announcement follows the retraction of an offer made by LD Lines earlier this week.
SeaFrance, the majority of shares in which are currently owned by French national railway operator, SNCF, is facing financial difficulties.
According to a spokesperson for Brittany Ferries, the company is proposing to jointly own SeaFrance with SNCF, in an arrangement that would see Brittany Ferries holding 75 per cent of the shares and SNCF retaining 25 per cent.
If the takeover bid is successful, Brittany Ferries would purchase either four or five of SeaFrance's ferries, and continue to operate them on Dover-Calais sailings.
Brittany Ferries already provides service on five routes to France that run from Plymouth, Poole and Portsmouth, and on two routes to Spain.
The president of Brittany Ferries, Jean-Marc Roué said: “We think Brittany Ferries has a real legitimacy to put in an offer to relaunch SeaFrance.”
David Longden, the managing director of Brittany Ferries, commented: “After 37 years of experience on the longer routes to France and Spain, this is an exciting opportunity to introduce Brittany Ferries’ award-winning standards on Dover-Calais crossings, and to provide an even greater choice for our passengers and freight customers.”
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