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Avion Group’s subsidiary company Eimskip, is pleased to announce the acquisition of 50% equity stake in Kursiu Linija, which is the only Lithuanian short sea container shipping line providing “door to door” freight delivery services in the Baltic States, Poland, Russia, United Kingdom and Northern Europe. The purchase price, which is undisclosed, will be financed by Eimskip’s equity.
Avion Group’s subsidiary company Eimskip, is pleased to announce the acquisition of 50% equity stake in Kursiu Linija, which is the only Lithuanian short sea container shipping line providing “door to door” freight delivery services in the Baltic States, Poland, Russia, United Kingdom and Northern Europe. The purchase price, which is undisclosed, will be financed by Eimskip’s equity.
Kursiu Linija has an expected turnover of approximately 60 million Euros in 2006 compared to 46 million Euros in 2005. The company is expected to show profits for 2006. Kursiu Linija will continue to be managed by the current management, including Arijus Ramons, managing director of the company. The acquisition is a part of Eimskip’s strategy to become a transport market leader offering total services in the North Atlantic through a network linking key ports in Europe. Kursiu Linija was established in 1995. It presently operates three seperate services, between the Baltic States and Poland and UK and Benelux, between Germany and Kaliningrad and between Germany and Lithuania and Sweden. The main ports that Kursiu Linija calls on are Klaipeda in Lithuania, Liepaja in Latvia, Gdansk in Poland, Ipswich and Teesport in UK, Rotterdam in Netherlands, Hamborg and Bremerhaven in Germany and Åhus in Sweden. Kursiu Linija operates six vessels with a transport capacity of 300-650 teus (1 teu equals a 20 ft. container unit). In 2001, a strategic decision was made to invest in 45 ft. containers in addition to the conventional 20 and 40 ft. containers in order to strengthen the company’s competitive position in overland transport and to heed the EU appeal to minimize inland transportation in this region. Kursiu Linija owns approximately 1,500 45 ft. containers, drycontainers, refrigerated containers and curtainside containers, where the sides of the containers can be pulled open during loading and discharging. The total transport capacity is 5,000 teus. Kursiu Linija transported 140,000 teus in 2005 and the estimate for 2006 is 220.000 teus. The company handles transportation for Masterfood, Procter & Gamble, Gillette and IKEA as well as for other companies. Commenting on the transaction, Baldur Guðnason, CEO of Eimskip, said:
”Eimskip’s investment in Kursiu Linija is in accordance with the company’s policy of building a strong and versatile transportation and logistics service in Europe and strengthening Eimskip’s ” intra-Europe” sailing network. For the last decade, Kursiu Linija has managed to build-up valuable goodwill and knowledge in this region which will benefit Eimskip and the company’s customers.” Commenting on the transaction, Arijus Ramonas, CEO of Kursiu Linija, said:
”The future vision and policy of Eimskip coincides with Kursiu Linija’s vision and policy. Many big shipping lines in the North-Atlantic have shown interest in cooperating with Kursiu Linija. During the discussions for the last few months, we found that Eimskip was the optimum choice. With Eimskip we found an interesting partner which we can evolve with, for the benefit of both companies and our customers.”
Source: Press Release
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