Spain: CNMC looking into shipping companies’ merger

Three months after the Canary Islands-based Armas shipping company and the Acciona group reached an agreement for the former to acquire the latter’s shares in rival Trasmediterránea, the CNMC has officially received notification of this transaction, and will begin the necessary analyses.

This is the final step needed to validate a merger due to the consequences it could have for competition in this sector, especially on the routes between the Canary Islands and the mainland. If the CNMC approves the operation, Armas could have a monopoly of routes serving the Canary Islands through the two brands, since the Canarian shipping company has said it intends to maintain them.

The deal, which was formalized in October after over a month of negotiations, involves the payment by Armas €260.4 million (approximately US$300 million). The operation will turn Armas, a small shipping company founded on the island of Lanzarote 76 years ago, into a European giant, operating 42 routes between the mainland, the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands and North Africa.

Full Content: Canarias 7

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