July 12, 2012
CMA CGM Group and parent company Merit agree to sell La Compagnie du Ponant to Bridgepoint.
It was recently announced that Willkie client CMA CGM Group and its parent company, Merit, entered into an agreement to sell La Compagnie du Ponant, the French luxury cruise line, to European private equity firm Bridgepoint. With 580 employees and 4 ships, La Compagnie du Ponant hosted 20,000 passengers in 2011 at a turnover of €80 million. Operating a fleet of 394 vessels that serve more than 400 ports around the world, CMA CGM is the world’s third-largest container shipping company and ranked number one in France. The company’s 2011 turnover was $14.9 billion.
Last year, Willkie advised CMA/CGM on the sale of a 50 percent stake in Malta Freeport Terminals Limited to Yildirim. The current deal was handled by partners Daniel Hurstel and Christophe Garaud and special European counsel Karine Lenczner.
