Eight Breton companies acquire stakes in Brittany Ferries [Vidéo]

Eight companies, “economic flagships of Brittany” according to Brittany Ferries, entered its capital in September: Louis Le Duff, the Société financière de la Loire, Alain Glon Holding, Idea Future, Helea, Patri, TM Participations and For Invest. “After the entry into the capital last year of CMA-CGM, this is more of a symbolic operation that we wanted to carry out to consolidate our regional roots”, explains Jean-Marc Roué, the chairman of the supervisory board of the shipping company.

The Breton vegetable cooperatives, which remain 75% shareholders of Brittany Ferries, have managed, in total, to open up the company’s capital for nearly €40 million and are looking for one or more investors to reach the €50 million target. With the main objective of holding the purchase options for the new boats, Galicia in the lead.

To read on the subjectCMA CGM acquires a stake in Brittany Ferries

“100 million raised to significantly reduce debt”

This year again, the activity driven by passenger and freight transport in Spain, England and Ireland will generate profits. Enough to continue repaying its debt. On Thursday, October 15, 2020, in the middle of the covid period, the regional councilors of Brittany approved a repayable advance of €30 million for Brittany Ferries, forced to close passenger lines. In Normandy, an advance of €35 million was voted. “The Brittany Region will be reimbursed on October 23 and the Normandy Region at the beginning of November,” announced the Breton shipping company on Tuesday, September 10.

The repayment of the state-guaranteed loan (PGE) of 117 million euros, also granted during the covid pandemic, began in December 2002 and 33.4 million has already been repaid, or more than a quarter of the loan.

In two years, “nearly 100 million euros will have been raised to considerably reduce the company’s debt”, says Brittany Ferries, which thus intends to reassure “its partners of its capacity for rapid recovery and the launch of new structuring and wealth-creating projects”.

Majority shareholder of Condor ferries

In 2019, the capital of Condor Ferries, which connects the United Kingdom and France to the islands of Jersey and Guernsey, was acquired at 72.28% by Columbia Threadneedle Investment (CTI), an American investment fund, accompanied by Brittany Ferries. The Breton company announced on Tuesday that it had “finalized” this summer its “takeover of 51% of the capital of Condor”, which “suffered greatly during the two years of the covid crisis”.

Brittany Ferries will therefore become the majority shareholder, after obtaining the green light from the Jersey Competition Authority. “With Brittany Ferries, Condor Ferries will be able to turn a new page in its history and strengthen the link between France and the United Kingdom in the service of the development of Jersey and Guernsey,” indicates the Breton shipping company.