Scrutiny of ro/ro carrier purchase

Scrutiny of ro/ro carrier purchase    The European Commission said it has opened an in-depth investigation under the EU merger regulation into the proposed acquisition of joint control over short sea roll-on/roll-off carrier DFDS by DSV and Vesterhavet, all of Denmark.
   DFDS is solely controlled by Vesterhavet. DSV is the leading freight forwarder in Scandinavia.
   “Initial market investigation indicated that the proposed acquisition could significantly impede effective competition because of potential adverse effects on other freight forwarders in terms of price and access to some ro/ro shipping services routes and so raises serious doubts as to its compatibility with the single market,” the EC said.
   The EC noted its decision to open an in-depth inquiry “does not prejudge the final result of the investigation. The Commission now has 90 working days (until Oct. 19) to take a final decision on whether the concentration would significantly impede effective competition within the European Economic area or a substantial part of it.
   Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said: “We must ensure that freight forwarders will continue to have access to transport on ro/ro vessels, so that final customers will not suffer price increases.”
   Vesterhavet, which is fully owned by JL-Fondet (Denmark), is the shareholding parent company of the shipping company J. Lauritzen A/S (Lauritzen) and DFDS. Lauritzen is active in ocean transport and ship management and support services.
   DSV is active in freight forwarding and contract logistic services. The DSV group offers a worldwide network of sea and air freight and a European network of road freight forwarding.
   DFDS operates a short sea transport network in Northern Europe. It is active in ro/ro shipping services in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. It is also active in freight forwarding through its subsidiaries Speedcargo and Hall'ns.