Stena AB and DFDS A/S
A Report on the Completed Acquisition by Stena AB from DFDS A/S of Certain Vessels and Assets Operated on the Irish Sea
Description:... On 8 February 2011, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) referred the completed acquisition by Stena AB (Stena) of DFDS Seaways Irish Sea Ferries Limited and related assets from DFDS A/S (DFDS) to the Competition Commission (CC) for investigation and report by 25 July 2011. Stena AB (publ) is a private company registered in Sweden. Stena's Irish Sea operations include ownership of two ports in the UK (Holyhead and Stranraer). DFDS operates a sea-based freight and passenger transport network in Northern Europe. Until 2011, it ran four routes on the Irish Sea: from Heysham to Belfast or Dublin, and from Liverpool to Belfast or Dublin. As a result of the acquisition, Stena took over two of the routes that DFDS had been operating: Liverpool-Belfast, and Heysham-Belfast. Following the acquisition, DFDS closed the two other routes that it had been operating (Liverpool-Dublin and Heysham-Dublin). The Commission found that the acquisition did not lead to a substantial lessening of competition for freight services or in the provision of services to passengers.
Show description