Tallink buys Silja Line for EUR 450 million and stock

Vessels on the Finland-Sweden run will remain in service

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The Estonian shipping company Tallink has bought the Finnish passenger and car ferry operator Silja Line, owned by the Bermuda-registered US company Sea Containers Ltd., for EUR 450 million and stock. The sale price will also include five million Tallink shares. The transaction is subject to approval by the competition authorities.
      According to the Finnish News Agency (STT), Tallink's Sales and Marketing Director Peter Roose has confirmed the deal to the Baltic News Service (BNS), the largest news agency in the Baltic States.
      It was the British Sunday Times that broke the news yesterday that Sea Containers was understood to be in the final stages of talks with Tallink, and that a deal would be completed in the next few days.
     
Silja Line runs ferries from Helsinki to Sweden and Estonia. According to Tallink, there are no plans to re-flag the vessels' registration to any other country. Also the employment and pension benefits of the crews will remain unaltered.
      The six passenger and car ferries operating between Finland and Sweden are included in the deal. The vessels are to continue operating as usual.
     
After the transaction Tallink becomes the market leader among the cruise and passenger ferry operators on the routes between Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, and Germany.
      However, the two SuperSeaCat vessels running between Helsinki and Tallinn will remain with Sea Containers. Moreover, the catamaran service using the vessels will be operated by Sea Containers without any interruptions.
     
The former owner of Silja Line, Sea Containers, announced at the end of last year that the whole operation would be put up for sale as part of a restructuring programme at the troubled transport group.
      Silja Line's main competitor, the Finnish ferry group Viking Line, was among as the large group of other companies interested in the acquisition. Moreover, the Norwegian NorFerries announced last month that it had offered EUR 520 million for Silja Line.
      Tallink carried 3.2 million passengers last year and Silja Line 3.4 million. The two companies posted net sales of EUR 260 million and EUR 380 million respectively, and between them they employ around 6,800 people.
      In order to acquire capital for further expansion, the Tallink Group went public last year.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Silja Line attracts several potential buyers (12.5.2006)
  Silja Line to be sold (4.11.2005)
  Sea Containers considers sale of Silja Line (25.10.2005)

Links:
  Silja Line
  Sea Containers Ltd.

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