Meyer Werft and the Finnish state acquired Turku shipyard from STX Europe in September 2014. Meyer Werft took 70% of the shares, and Finland purchased 30% of the share capital through the Finnish Industry Investment Ltd (FII).
FII normally exits from its investments after a period of time. In the case of the Turku shipyard, it was agreed that Meyer get a call option to buy FII’s minority stake.
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'At the time of the purchase Meyer was only operating shipyards in Germany and therefore going to invest in Finland was a big and strategic step for us, which we carefully considered from different angles,' said Jan Meyer, ceo of Meyer Turku. 'Our well-coordinated acquisition with the Finnish government made it possible for us to implement this strategic move, and I am sincerely grateful for the government for its valuable contribution.'
He added: 'In general, I hope that our decision to buy all the shares is received as a sign of confidence that we can make Turku shipyard a long-term shipbuilding success.'
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'We are happy to see that the Turku shipyard is developing so positively. Our engagement was an investment in Finnish strengths—the shipyard and the strong maritime cluster,' said Jan Vapaavuori, Finland's minister of economic affairs. 'It is good to see that Meyer is sharing our confidence and further invests in the Turku shipyard. This benefits not only the yard but also the maritime cluster and Finland at large.'
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Vapaavuori congratulated Meyer for 'a great start in Finland, bringing a lot of new orders to Turku.'
The change in ownership structure is expected to become effective within the next weeks, ahead of the handover of TUI Cruises' Mein Schiff 4.
