The Danish shipping company will acquire the İstanbul-based U.N. Ro-Ro for €950m, granted it gets approval from the Turkish, Austrian, German, and Italian competition authorities.

The Turkish company, employing some 500 people, operates a fleet of 12 freighters (av. age of 11 years) across five routes in the Mediterranean - from Pendik, Ambarlı, and Mersin to Trieste, as well as between Pendik and Toulon, and Pendik and Bari. Last year, U.N. Ro-Ro's ships carried 202k cargo units.

In addition, the company operates its own port facilities - in Pendik and Trieste (the Samer Seaports and Terminals and the Fruit Terminal Trieste).

"With the acquisition of U.N. Ro-Ro, we are expanding into one of Europe's most attractive freight markets which is operationally similar to northern Europe. This gives us opportunity together with the existing strong management team to leverage our network, fleet, experience and skills to develop the business further while supporting the growth of U.N. Ro-Ro’s customers," Niels Smedegaard, CEO, DFDS, commented.

Selçuk Boztepe, CEO, U.N. Ro-Ro, added, "We are excited to become part of DFDS' network and the development opportunities this brings to both our customers and employees. I am confident that the industry know-how, combined network capabilities, and the financial strength of our new shareholder will allow U.N. Ro-Ro to enhance the competitiveness of Turkish exporters and international logistics companies."

Photo: Samer Seaports and Terminals