New bid for assets of Seafrance not submitted

DFDS and Louis Dreyfus Armateurs have chosen not to submit a new bid for certain assets of SeaFrance to the commercial court in Paris.

Copenhagen, 12 December 2011

Since the decision of the commercial court of Paris to liquidate SeaFrance and set 12 December 2011 as a deadline for the submission of new bids, DFDS and Louis Dreyfus Armateurs have conducted an extensive process to enable the submission of a new offer.

The main focus has been to address the social concerns voiced by the involved stakeholders and to increase the number of employed staff in the offer.

In the course of this process, DFDS and Louis Dreyfus Armateurs have had a constructive dialogue with several of the involved parties, but unfortunately it has not been possible to establish a dialogue with the union representing the majority of SeaFrance’s employees.

As a consequence hereof, and taking into account the social and operational significance of constructive and stable relations with all unions representing the employees of SeaFrance, DFDS and Louis Dreyfus Armateurs have decided not to submit a revised bid.

We sincerely regret this decision as the underlying industrial logic of DFDS’ and Louis Dreyfus Armateurs’ joint venture remains intact. Furthermore, we believe that the joint venture is in a unique position to create a sustainable, attractive, and profitable workplace for a majority of the present employees of SeaFrance, including the deployment of French flagged ships. We will continue to monitor the situation and evaluate any future opportunities that may arise for the joint venture.

DFDS press release