The Grimaldi Group and Armas Trasmediterránea Group announce the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the sale of some assets and property rights of the Spanish group in Spain, as a first step for a collaboration between the two groups.

Grimaldi Group buys five RoPax vessels and two terminals in the ports of Valencia and Barcelona from Armas Trasmediterránea Group
Caption: Passenger/Ro-Ro Cargo Ship Ciudad de Palma - Image courtesy of Luis Rguez

The agreement provides for the purchase by the Grimaldi Group of five ro/pax vessels and two terminals in the ports of Valencia and Barcelona, as well as offices and warehouses located on the islands of Mallorca, Menorca and Ibiza.

In particular, the ships involved in the agreement are the Ciudad de Palma (year built 2007), Ciudad de Granada (2001), Ciudad de Mahón (2000), Volcán del Teide (2010) and Volcán de Tijarafe (2007), all currently deployed by Armas Trasmediterránea Group on various connections within Spain.

The agreement between the parties also provides for the purchase by the Grimaldi Group of the rights to operate between mainland Spain and the Balearic Islands for the transport of freight and passengers on the following round-trip maritime connections: Barcelona – Mahon (Menorca), Barcelona – Palma de Mallorca, Barcelona – Ibiza, Valencia – Mahon, Valencia – Palma de Mallorca and Valencia – Ibiza.

Finally, the agreement establishes the sale of two port terminals for the handling of rolling freight and passengers, currently operated under concession by Armas Trasmediterránea Group in Barcelona and Valencia, as well as various warehouses, offices and ticket offices in Valencia, Palma de Mallorca, Mahon and Ibiza.

Following the signing of the MoU, due diligence will be carried out with the aim of concluding the final transfer agreement and starting new operations for the upcoming summer season.

“I am proud and very satisfied to have signed this agreement with Emanuele Grimaldi. For our Group this is not a withdrawal from the routes to the Balearic Islands since we will continue to carry out, in collaboration with such an important shipping group on the world stage, a large commercial activity that will allow us to offer our customers an extensive network of international maritime routes”, declares President of Armas Trasmediterránea Group Antonio Armas.

"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 laid the foundations for a fruitful collaboration," states Emanuele Grimaldi, Managing Director of the eponymous group. “Upon completion of this operation, our group will extend its range of maritime services also to the Spanish domestic market, generating new synergies with the other connections we operate in the western Mediterranean”, concludes Emanuele Grimaldi.