U.N. Ro-Ro owner Danish DFDS to keep investing in Turkey

Leading Danish shipping and logistics company DFDS signed a share purchase agreement in April 2018 with U.N. Ro-Ro, a leading operator in intermodal transportation in Turkey. Following the completion of the acquisition, DFDS shipping division Executive Vice President Peder Gellert Pedersen emphasized confidence in the Turkish market and highlighted DFDS's intention to continue investing in both U.N. Ro-Ro and in Turkey.

Having recently been acquired by DFDS, U.N. Ro-Ro, a leading ro-ro company operating in the intermodal transportation sector, is expanding its operations. In April 2018, DFDS signed an agreement to acquire 98.8 percent of U.N. Ro-Ro from Roro Investments Sarl owned by Actera Group and Esas Holding for 950 million euros.

Pedersen said in a meeting Friday: "We have confidence in both the Turkish economy and in U.N. Ro-Ro's strong presence in the sector. We believe there are opportunities in creating new activities and jobs in Turkey. Turkey has strong trade relations with its largest trade partners in the EU. As globalization supports growth in international trade, Turkey, as the region's logistic hub, will become even more important."

DFDS's investment in U.N. Ro-Ro demonstrates the strength of Turkey's logistic infrastructure and the fact that Turkey will become increasingly important as an export hub for regional markets, the vice president added.

Pedersen remarked that DFDS's know-how, experience and financial strength will help U.N. Ro-Ro increase the competitiveness of Turkish exporters as well as international road transportation and logistics operators.

"Turkey's largest Ro-Ro operator, U.N. Ro-Ro, will reinforce DFDS's operations in the Baltic Sea, the North Sea and the English Channel. U.N. Ro-Ro's strong network in the Mediterranean and DFDS' wide network in Northern Europe, especially the U.K., Scandinavian countries, Benelux countries and Germany, will create an unprecedented synergy once combined together," Pederson concluded.

U.N Ro-Ro CEO Selçuk Boztepe said: "By combining DFDS's network with U.N. Ro-Ro's network we will extend both ro-ro and intermodal lines to reach new customers and creating new opportunities. U.N. Ro-Ro will continue its growth with new investments. We will lengthen our two ro-ro ships in August and December 2018 to increase our capacity and efficiency."

Boztepe stressed that there will be great opportunities in a combined U.N. Ro-Ro/DFDS fleet with the flexibility to change ships between areas to ensure the right tonnage in the right market, including DFDS's recently ordered series of very large ro-ro ships of each 6,700 lane-meters.

He announced that new destinations will soon be added to U.N. Ro-Ro's transportation network. Patras Port in Greece is among those destinations. "Patras Port will be a valuable addition to our transportation services between Turkey to Greece and Greece to Europe. With the power of DFDS, U.N. Ro-Ro will become one of the key players in the sector in the North African, Black Sea and Middle Eastern regions," he said.

Following DFDS and U.N. Ro-Ro's integration, the entire fleet of U.N. Ro-Ro ships will continue flying Turkish flags en route.