The Canadian shipbuilder finalised the acquisition of the assets of the Finnish shipbuilding yard, up till now owned by a Cypriot company, in turn, controlled by Russians.
While the details of the purchase are confidential, the transaction was made possible by a combination of Davie's own funds and €77 million of financing from the Québec government consisting of an equity investment of €30m and a loan of €47m.
The Canadian and Finnish shipyards will be separate legal and operating entities, with the business headquartered in Québec.
"Importantly, the Canadian government has looked favourably on the potential synergies resulting from the transaction for the construction of icebreakers under the National Shipbuilding Strategy," Davie underlined in a press release. The Strategy is a long-term project to renew Canada's federal fleet of combat and non-combat vessels, including ships for the Royal Canadian Navy and the Canadian Coast Guard.
The takeover talks began in December 2022. In March 2023, Davie exercised an exclusive option to purchase the assets of Helsinki Shipyard. This was followed in April by the signing of a business purchase agreement, and on July 4, Davie secured a new 50-year land lease from the City of Helsinki.
"We are delighted to bring two historic and highly complementary businesses together. It would not have been possible without the support of Québec, the City of Helsinki, Finland and Canada. We are confident our talented people and world-class supply chain will quickly form the preeminent global centre of excellence for green Arctic shipbuilding and other specialised products. Empowered by Helsinki shipyard's unique know-how, Québec can also more efficiently deliver Canada's polar icebreaker order book, which is the western world's largest," James Davies, Davie President and CEO, and Co-owner, commented.
Alex Vicefield, Inocea (Davie's parent company) Chairman and CEO, and Co-owner, said, "Linking together the capabilities, capacity and expertise of the two global leaders in ice-class vessel and icebreaker construction is a strategically important development for the western world. The Arctic is critical for future security, trade, navigation and the environment, and Inocea is proud to be at the forefront of this next frontier."
Kim Salmi, Managing Director of Helsinki Shipyard, added, "This is the best possible news for Helsinki Shipyard, our talented workforce and our supply chain. After months of planning, our top priority is to rapidly return this business to what it does best – designing and building world-class ships quickly, efficiently and cost-effectively."
Works at Helsinki Shipyard effectively came to a halt following Russia's war of aggression as the company mainly catered to the Russian market. Its latest order was what otherwise would be the largest icebreaker built in Finland, a vessel for Norilsk Nickel. The Finnish cabinet didn't authorise the ship's handover (the delivery was scheduled ahead of the 2025 icebreaking season).
The 1865-launched shipyard in Helsinki has delivered over 500 vessels, including, from the start of the 20th century, icebreakers (it's counted that around 60% of the icebreakers in operation were constructed in Helsinki).
Photo: Ecoship Peace Boat