June 14, 2024
DFDS has agreed to sell the Oslo-Frederikshavn-Copenhagen cruise ferry route to Gotlandsbolaget, with the sale expected to be completed in October 2024.
The Oslo-Frederikshavn-Copenhagen route
- 700,000 passengers annually
- Limited freight
- Two cruise ferries: Pearl Seaways and Crown Seaways
- 800 employees
- Generated DKK 0.9bn in revenue in 2023, representing 3% of DFDS Group’s total revenue.
- A long-standing part of DFDS since its foundation in 1866 and an important public service in Denmark and Norway.
The sale includes the two ferries, terminal and port agreements, and 800 employees, with DFDS providing certain support services post-sale for a limited time. The sale price is around DKK 400m.
The deal comes about a year after Gotlandsbolaget bought Birka Stockholm (now Birka Gotland) . It is for the Swedish company yet another step in the strategic direction to expand in passenger shipping.
The two vessels will not be reflagged in connection with the transaction and no layoffs are planned as part of the transfer of the route.
