The Italian group Grimaldi multiplies its presence in Barcelona. From now on, the company will not only manage the maritime routes linking the Catalan capital with Italy, but will also be responsible for providing passenger and cargo maritime transport services between Barcelona and the ports of Palma de Mallorca, Mahón and Ibiza.
In a statement, Grimaldi explained that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the purchase of certain assets and property rights of the Spanish group Armas Trasmediterránea as "a first step in a collaboration between both shipping groups."
The agreement contemplates the purchase by the Grimaldi Group of five vessels and the terminals that Trasmediterránea has in Barcelona and in the Port of Valencia, as well as several buildings, offices and warehouses located on the islands of Mallorca, Menorca and Ibiza.
The vessels that become property of Grimaldi are the Ciudad de Palma, Ciudad de Granada, Ciudad de Mahón, Volcán del Teide and Volcán de Tijarafe. The agreement includes the acquisition of exploitation rights between the Peninsula and the Balearic Islands for the transport of goods and passengers on six maritime routes: those linking Barcelona and Valencia with Palma de Mallorca, Mahón and Ibiza.
"I am very happy to have signed this important agreement with Antonio Armas, with whom we immediately established a relationship of great mutual esteem and with whom we laid the foundations for a fruitful collaboration," said Emanuele Grimaldi, CEO of the Neapolitan group. "Once this operation is completed, our group will expand its offer of maritime services also to the Spanish domestic market, generating new synergies with the rest of the connections operated in the western Mediterranean," concludes the shipping entrepreneur.
Headquartered in Naples, the family-owned Grimaldi Group has a fleet of 130 ships, with a workforce of 16,000 people and operations in the Mediterranean, the Baltic and the North Sea.
With this divestment, Naviera Armas tries to address the financial crisis the company is going through, suffering from a large debt that amounts to more than 900 million euros between bank loans and bonds (for 582 million) maturing in 2023 and 2024. Advised by Houlihan Lokey, the Armas family has been negotiating the restructuring of this liability with its creditors for months, with whom it reached a non-aggression pact in December, waiting for the group to adopt measures to redirect its delicate economic situation.
Before the pandemic, Armas already had a debt of more than 700 million, but this figure has continued to grow and now the situation has been aggravated by the sharp drop in revenue recorded by the company as a consequence of covid-19 and restrictions on passenger traffic.
Founded in the 1940s, family-owned and a leader in maritime transport in the Canary Islands, the Armas group bought Trasmediterránea from Acciona at the end of 2017, in an operation valued at nearly 400 million euros, including the purchase of shares (for 260 million) and the assumption of a debt of 130 million.
It so happens that in February Port de Barcelona authorized the expansion of the Grimaldi terminal by 27,000 square meters, a project that will require an investment of four million.
Add The New Barcelona Post as your preferred Google source for free
Stay informed with the latest news.
