The court found merit in a filing by the Grimaldi Group, signaling a new twist in the long-running rivalry between the Grimaldi and Aponte family interests.

In a recently published order, An Italian regional administrative court (TAR) of Lazio  an issues a temporary suspension of the pending sale of five ferries Aki, Moby Wonder, Athara, Janas, and Moby Ale 2 from Moby Lines to MSC’s SAS division as part of a settlement of antitrust issues. The court found merit in a filing by the Grimaldi Group, signaling a new twist in the long-running rivalry between the Grimaldi and Aponte family interests.

While awaiting a ruling on the merits of the case, the judges wrote the following in their order: "Considering that, without prejudice to any assessment of the merits of the appeal, there is currently no concrete risk that, as a result of the performance of the commitments undertaken by the opposing companies [...], the 'structural' and 'irreversible' alteration of the competitive structure of the market to the detriment of the Grimaldi Group, which the latter cites as the basis for the interim protection request, will occur, pending the resolution of this case, considering that :i) two of the five vessels subject to the sale remain at Moby's disposal as a result of the charter back clause included in the contract, thus allowing it to maintain its market operations in the meantime ii) the transfer of ownership of the five Moby and CIN vessels to an MSC Group entity is still a legally enforceable act

A proposal for Moby to auction five ferries

The Competition Authority accepted a proposal for Moby to auction five ferries to raise funds to repay a loan provided by MSC in 2023 to keep the ferry company in business. Moby, which is controlled by the Onorato family, has been in financial difficulties since the acquisition of Tirrenia ferries. The Onorato group agreed to sell a 49 percent stake in Moby to MSC and grant an option for the remaining shares. The Competition Authority, however, earlier this year ruled against the combination, citing MSC’s ownership of another ferry company, GNV (Grandi Navi Veloci), and the likelihood of decreased competition, which would hurt travelers.

The €229.9 million price, the result of a public auction,

The €229.9 million price, the result of a public auction, that MSC will pay to Moby and CIN will be used to repay the €243 million loan provided by Gianluigi Aponte's group to the Onorato family's "blue whale." The agreement submitted by MSC, GNV, and Moby to the Antitrust Authority to avoid a potential fine for anti-competitive conduct on routes between mainland Italy and Sardinia stipulated that, "if the proceeds from the sale of these assets are not sufficient to repay the SAS loan, any remaining credit will be sold to an independent third party, under conditions that respect Moby's economic and financial sustainability." 

The auction of the five ferries 

It is noteworthy that the auction of the five ferries was completed online on December 2, with MSC emerging as the only bidder. The terms required that two of the ferries be chartered back to Moby for 15 years. The other three ferries were expected to transfer to GNV.

Moby had said it would use the proceeds to repay a loan from MSC and restructure its operations. It admitted that service would be reduced on some routes but said it would emerge as a financially solid company, better positioned for growth and to service the markets.

Grimaldi filed another protest against the transactions, arguing to the Lazio Regional Administrative Court that the sale of the ferries to MSC would have “immediate and irreversible effects on the market.” They contended that the sale would distort competition on the Naples-Palermo and Sardinia routes. 

Related : Aponte (MSC) wins the five Moby ferries sold at auction

Source : Agencies 
 Grimaldi , Moby , MSC , Lazio Regional Administrative Court , the auction ,  GNV.Five Moby Ferries , Aponte family,  Antitrust-Linked Transaction