Lürssen tipped to acquire Peene-Werft

News media reports say the Bremen-based yacht and naval surface ship builder has made the best of three binding bids for Peene-Werft and is likely to win the contract when receiver Berthold Brinkmann meets P+S creditors next Monday.

The media say Lürssen is offering around €20 million and is willing to keep on more than 300 of the 540 jobs originally at the yard. They add that both proposals are likely to be attractive to unions and creditors.

Neither Lürssen nor the receivers would comment on the media reports.

Lürssen in Lemwerder already owns several small shipyards in other German locations, among them Kröger Werft, Rolandwerft and the Norderwerft – the latter bought just this year when Sietas was broken up.

Lürssen has in the past denied interest in Peene-Werft, but observers say the Wolgast yard would now fit nicely into the Lürssen portfolio and could also become a Baltic repair centre. Peene is currently building patrol boats for Sweden and overhauling naval tenders. It is also involved, along with Lürssen and Blohm + Voss, in a consortium building new frigates for the German Navy.

The other two yards involved in the bidding for Peene-Werft are the Abu Dhabi Mar Group, which has yards in Rendsburg and Kiel, and the Tamsen-Werft in Rostock.

Although a deal appears close in Wolgast, the media say there is still no binding offer for Volkswerft in Stralsund, the big sister in the P+S Group.

Receivers expect offers by year’s end and the yard remains busy. Interest is reported in two 169.5m ferries being completed after cancellation by Scandlines. Two 195.2m ro-ro transporters for DFDS and a supply-container ship for RAL are also still being built there.