CMA CGM enters into exclusive discussions to acquire La Méridionale
CMA CGM Group announces that it has entered into exclusive discussions with STEF Group to acquire 100% of La Méridionale, a mixed freight and passenger shipping company based in Marseille. The completion of this transaction is conditional upon the signature of the share transfer agreements, after information and consultation of the employee representative bodies, and authorizations from the various competition authorities.
With this acquisition, CMA CGM Group wishes to pursue its development in the Mediterranean, while strengthening the position of the port of Marseille and the French shipping industry.
The Group intends to turn around La Méridionale and restore its growth prospects. To this end, it will support its development by creating commercial complementarities in France and internationally, particularly the RORO service to Morocco, while preserving the jobs of French sailors on board its ships. It will also invest in the shipping company's fleet and energy transition.
With the help of a dedicated management team based in Marseille, the new shareholder will be committed to preserving La Méridionale's identity and reinforcing the quality of service for customers on the Corsica and Morocco routes, while respecting the spirit of passenger service that has made La Méridionale a success.
La Méridionale, created in 1931, now operates a daily freight and passenger service between Corsica and the continent, under a public service delegation with up to 13 crossings per week. The shipping company has also opened a regular line between Marseille and Morocco with weekly services. La Méridionale relies on nearly 600 people including 490 seafarers, with a fleet of 4 dedicated mixed vessels: the Pelagos, the Kalliste, the Piana, and the Girolata.
In 2019, it will also be the first company to experiment with a particulate matter filter on its main and auxiliary engines, both at port and at sea.
Led by Rodolphe Saadé, the CMA CGM Group, a global player in sea, land, air and logistics solutions, serves more than 420 ports around the world across 5 continents, with a fleet of 584 vessels. The Group transported 22 million TEU containers (twenty-foot equivalent units) in 2021.
