Following FSN’s July coverage, Spain’s competition authority, the CNMC, has published further details of the conditions attached to its approval of DFDS’s acquisition of certain Armas-Trasmediterránea assets.
In its 25 September statement, the CNMC confirmed that the transaction requires the transfer to a third party of the assets needed to maintain Armas’s Algeciras–Ceuta operation. The aim is to enable a third operator to compete on the route. At least one potential interested party has been identified.
The authority’s in-depth investigation found that the acquisition could reduce competitive pressure on the Ceuta route and increase the risk of coordinated behaviour between DFDS and Baleària across the Strait of Gibraltar.
DFDS had proposed price monitoring, maintaining service quality and Armas’s peak-period frequencies, alongside investment and other commitments. The CNMC considered these insufficient to address its concerns and imposed the asset-transfer condition.
The statement does not identify the prospective operator or specify which assets would be transferred.
