The purchase of the route includes the two ships Pearl Seaways (built 1989) and Crown Seaways (built 1994), as well as an operation with approximately 800 employees at sea and on land. The route had about 700,000 passengers in 2023.

"We see great potential in this business. The route is delivering today, and together with our new colleagues, we will both work to ensure continuity and develop the product", says Håkan Johansson, CEO of Gotlandsbolaget.

Johansson continues "We are doubling the number of employees within the group, so it is a big step for us. Gotlandsbolaget aims to expand within passenger shipping and cruises and this is a very attractive combination of the two."

The deal is a big step for DFDS as well.

“The route is a part of our history and heritage, and it is with a heavy heart that we have found a new home for the route and will be saying goodbye to a lot of valued colleagues. We have determined this to be the best way forward for all. We have grown and developed significantly over the years, and the route deserves to be in the hands of an owner with cruise experience as a core part of their strategy going forward. We are happy to have found that with Gotlandsbolaget," says Torben Carlsen, CEO of DFDS.

DFDS will continue to operate the route until 31 October, after which Gotlandsbolaget will take over the operation. Intensive work is now beginning before the takeover. The new employees are to be welcomed and introduced to the group, the work to develop products begins and during the autumn the name of the new company and the products will also be developed and launched.

Gotlandsbolaget has a clear goal of offering climate-neutral travel between Gotland and the mainland by 2045, and work on next-generation ships, now focusing on Horizon X, a high-speed catamaran that can run on hydrogen. The line between Oslo and Copenhagen will also be operated with high ambitions for the future, where the first steps will be to optimize existing vessels.

In this transaction Fearnley Securities AS is acting as the financial advisor and Bech-Bruun is acting as legal advisor to Gotlandsbolaget.

A Swedish regulatory press release can be found at https://corporate.gotlandsbolaget.se/sv/media/pressmeddelanden/

Contact DFDS
Dennis Kjærsgaard Sørensen, Global Head of Media Relations, DFDS
E-mail: densore@dfds.com
Phone: +45 4230 3847

About DFDS
DFDS operate a transport network in and around Europe with an annual revenue of DKK 28bn and 14,000 full-time employees. We move goods in trailers by ferry, road & rail and we offer complementary and related transport and logistics solutions. We also move car and foot passengers on short sea and overnight ferry routes. DFDS was founded in 1866 and is headquartered and listed in Copenhagen.