Danish shipping and logistics giant DFDS is close to buying the core business of Spain's Naviera Armas, its operations in the Strait of Gibraltar, which generate 60% of the company's profits and oversee the vital Spain-Morocco migration route. According to El Confidencial, DFDS has reached a preliminary agreement worth €300 million with investment funds JP Morgan and Barings, who rescued Naviera Armas from default in 2023. The Canary Islands-based company fell into financial trouble after taking on €800 million in debt, mainly from its 2018 purchase of Trasmediterránea from Acciona. A court-approved restructuring plan faced resistance from Spanish banks but was eventually cleared. Its main creditors, JP Morgan, Barings, Cheyne, and Bain Capital, now holding 94% of the company, then hired investment bank Houlihan Lokey to manage the sale. Disappointed by low bids from ferry operators Balearia and Boluda for the whole business, the creditors decided to split it up and sell it in parts. DFDS, which has annual revenues of over €4 billion and is listed on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange, already operates in the Mediterranean. In 2022, it acquired the Spanish division of German shipowner FRS, including FRS Iberia and FRS Maroc, for €150 million.
