By
Rebecca Gibson |
German shipbuilder Meyer Werft and the Finnish government have purchased the whole share capital of STX Finland from STX Europe, enabling the entities to acquire
Enabling the entities to acquire STX Finland’s Turku shipyard, the deal was approved following a merger control review by the German antitrust authority. The company will now operate under the name Meyer Turku.
Meyer Werft, which is a family-run firm with more than 200 years of shipbuilding experience, has acquired a 70% share. The shipbuilder will manage both operations at the yard and any future developments, while the current CEO, Dr Jan Meyer, will assume the role of CEO of Meyer Turku. Meanwhile, the state of Finland purchased 30% of the share capital through government-owned Finnish Industry Investment. Investors have injected new equity into Meyer Turku, which will provide a solid basis for further development.
“We now have a great chance to make the Turku yard strong again, “ said Meyer. “We found a strong and committed team at Turku and there is a lot of potential for us to learn from each other, which will benefit our yards in Papenburg, Warnemünde and Turku. We just have to work hard on it and constantly improve our productivity. This is the only way to ensure that we can continue the great legacy of Turku yard for many years to come.”
The deal secures the future of the Turku yard, enabling it to continue building cruise ships, ferries and other specialised vehicles. Prior to the deal, business had been slowly declining at the Finnish yard since last October when STX Group’s main creditor Korea Development Bank confirmed plans to sell STX Europe – which includes STX France and STX Finland – as part of a debt-reduction strategy. In 2012, the Finnish yard missed out on a billion-dollar contract for Royal Caribbean’s third Oasis-class cruise ship and lost another bid to build the fourth Oasis-class vessel, despite constructing the line’s first two Oasis-class ships. Both contracts were awarded to the yard’s rival STX France. The lack of new orders and the global economic recession also forced STX Finland to restructure its operations and close its Rauma Shipyard.
Commenting on the deal, Jan Vapaavuori, Finland’s Minister of Economic Affairs, said: “The Finnish shipyards’ know-how is very important for the whole maritime industry in Europe. It is a high-tech industry and we have great expectations from our important investment in the Turku shipyard.”
Prompted by Meyer Werft’s acquisition plans, TUI ordered two Mein Schiff sister ships to be built at the Turku yard. Valued at almost €1 billion, the August 2014 order should create around 12,000 jobs at the shipyard until the scheduled delivery of the vessels in 2016 and 2017.
In addition, TUI Cruises has ordered another two newbuilds - Mein Schif 7 and Mein Schiff 8 - due for deliveries in 2018 and 2019.
Designed as sister ships to Mein Schiff 3 and Mein Schiff 4, the four 7,000 gt newbuilds will measure 295 metres in length and feature 15 decks and 1,250 cabins. Around 90% of the cabins will be outside, while 82% will feature balconies.