Abu Dhabi Mar acquires troubled Lindenau

ADM Germany group leader Nobiskrug noted in a statement that it will be the third shipyard in Schleswig-Holstein to be taken over by Abu Dhabi Mar’s Privinvest Holding. Privinvest acquired Nobiskrug, in Rendsburg on the Kiel Canal, in 2009 and in 2011 added ADM Kiel – the former HDW-Gaarden Shipyard. Both were bought from ThyssenKrupp.

The formerly private Lindenau used to build specialised tankers, but under MD Dieter Kühne has built up a good reputation as a repair yard for small and mid-sized ships since it went into receivership in 2008. Nobiskrug acknowledged that progress by saying a particular benefit of the purchase was that it would “especially strengthen the repair and service activities of the group”. It pledged that ADM would “maintain and gradually expand” Lindenau’s strengths and said complementary facilities in the three yards would increase overall efficiency and flexibility. Nobiskrug specialises in mega yacht building, ADM has new offshore wind energy work and both also boast naval activity.

The Nobiskrug statement also said the three yards will be managed by a joint administration and an integrated management team. There were no immediate details of what that would mean for each individual yard, but the move seemed logical given their close proximity on, and at the entrance to, the Kiel Canal, the world’s busiest man-made waterway. With some 30,000 vessels using the Canal every year, repair potential at Lindenau, now secure as part of a strong local group, could also rise.

The Lindenau acquisition rounds off a year in which several insolvent German shipyards have found new homes as members of small but thriving local shipbuilding groups.

Siestas’ Norderwerft in Hamburg and the P&S sister yard Peene-Werft have both been acquired by expanding Lürssen Group. Receivers are also hopeful that a new investor can be found next year for troubled P&S yard Volkswerft. Interest has also been reported in the former Nordseewerke in Emden.