UPDATE, OCTOBER 31, 2016: Lürssen has received formal approval for the acquisition of Blohm+Voss, from the German Fair Trade Commission. The next step is analyzing the internal operations of Blohm+Voss. Lürssen could not do this while awaiting the government agency’s decision. “We now have the opportunity to gain a comprehensive insight into the existing shipyard structures and to instigate primary steps for our future cooperation,” says Peter Lürssen, the yard’s managing partner. Those steps may or may not include megayacht new-builds at Blohm+Voss, as previously announced. Yacht refit and repair, as well as commercial- and naval-ship refits and construction, remain priorities.
Read on for our original article.
While it still needs approval from German regulatory authorities, Lürssen has signed a deal to become the new parent of Blohm+Voss.
The contract is with Star Capital Partners, which acquired Blohm+Voss itself five years ago. Neither party is disclosing the price. The move bolsters Lürssen’s position in megayacht refits, along with new-build naval and commercial ships and their refit activities. The Blohm+Voss base in Hamburg, Germany complements five other yards in the country under Lürssen’s ownership. (The one pictured above is in Lemwerder.)
“We want to use these facilities to complement our existing refit and repair activities and also to offer our customers an ever better service,” says Peter Lürssen, managing partner at Lürssen Maritime Beteiligungen GmbH & Co. KG (the parent of the yacht builder of the same name). While megayacht refit is of interest, “the construction of yachts at the Hamburg yard will depend on the overall market situation, and it is difficult to judge at this time,” he adds. Blohm+Voss currently has an 80-meter in build. It also recently signed a deal to take over the drydocks at La Ciotat, a well-known refit yard in France.
The two yards have actually collaborated previously. In fact, they are jointly building a naval frigate. Lürssen believes that this type of cooperation can continue.
While regulators review the deal, Blohm+Voss will continue with projects and review the future courses with its in-house managerial teams. Fred van Beers, Blohm+Voss’ CEO, says, “For Blohm+Voss, customer focus and service take priority. With Lürssen we are gaining a long-term strategic owner who wants to jointly develop our company and expand our core business services.”
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