Various law firms advise on the €200m sale of the shipping business of the German group FRS to DFDS group
Uría Menéndez, Deloitte Legal, CMS Albiñana & Suárez de Lezo and EY Abogados have advised on the €200m sale to the Danish listed company DFDS A/A of the maritime transport business of passengers, vehicles and goods on all routes in the Strait of Gibraltar, between the Ports of Algeciras, Tarifa and Gibraltar and the Ports of Ceuta, Tangier-Ville and Tangier-Med of the German company FRS Europe Holding GmbH.
The transaction was structured as a competitive process and has involved the sale of six Spanish, Moroccan and Cypriot companies, owners of a fleet of HSC (High Speed Crafts) ferries and RO-RO and RO-PAX vessels as well as the concessions, authorizations, licenses and permits from the Spanish and Moroccan authorities necessary to operate on all routes in the Strait of Gibraltar.
The consummation of the Transaction is subject to the prior fulfillment of several suspensive conditions, mainly the authorization or non-opposition of the Spanish and Moroccan competition authorities.
Uría Menéndez has advised the buyer DFDS A/S and the team has been formed by Manuel Echenique (partner, M&A-private equity); Carlos López-Quiroga (partner, shipping and transport); Tomás Arranz (partner, Competition); Cristina Díaz Bauluz (senior associate, M&A-private equity), José Sánchez-Fayos (senior associate, shipping and transport); Adria Riba (senior associate, tax); Miloslava Ilcheva Srandeva (associate, tax); Éanna Malone (associate, corporate-M&A); César Farrapeira (junior associate, M&A-private equity); Javier Gutiérrez-Gil (junior associate, M&A-private equity); Álvaro Angulo (junior associate, competition); Isabel Fernández (junior associate, public law).
Deloitte Legal has advised DFDS Group on the tax aspects of the transaction. The team is formed by: Javier Pérez Olivares (partner), Victor Cuesta López-Mateos (senior associate), Octavio Arturo Camus (senior associate).
CMS Albiñana & Suárez de Lezo has advised FRS Ferry with a team formed by Antonio Pino, Ignacio Cerrato and Pilar Sánchez del Río have formed the corporate / M&A team. Carlos Vérgez and Aida Oviedo, from the competition area, and Juan Moreno, from the regulatory area, have collaborated in an outstanding way in their respective areas.
The firm (CMS) has advised FRS in (i) the preparation and development of the competitive sale process initiated in January of this year, (ii) the performance of the legal vendor’s due diligence and the legal fact book for potential investors, (iii) the coordination with the Moroccan and Cypriot legal advisors and (iv) the negotiation and signing of the sale and purchase agreement and other contracts and ancillary documents of the transaction.
EY Abogados has made the tax vendor due diligence for FRS. The team has been formed by Leire Arlaban (partner), Ana Mahia (manager), Belén Dueñas (senior) and Ignacio Cuevas.
