InfraVia, a France-based private equity company, has completed the acquisition of an 80% majority stake in compatriot maritime company Louis Dreyfus Armateurs (LDA).
The majority stake was acquired through InfraVia European Fund VI.
The Louis-Dreyfus family has retained a 20% share, with Edouard Louis-Dreyfus remaining President of the group.
Further to this operation, Louis Dreyfus Armateurs will soon be renamed LD Armateurs (LDA) .
With InfraVia support, LDA plans to invest €1 billion over the coming years . This investment will enable the group to more than double its fleet and accelerate its growth in technological innovation, energy transition, and the development of next-generation maritime services and navigation modes.
Effective today, Samira Draoua assumes the role of Chief Executive Officer of LDA.
LDA currently specializes in three growing segments: transportation and logistics of industrial equipment, mainly through dedicated roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) vessels, maintenance of offshore wind farms, and installation and maintenance of submarine telecom and power cables.
Established in 1893, the company manages a fleet of 23 vessels.
In related news, LDA recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Technip Energies, a compatriot technology and engineering powerhouse, to develop an ammonia storage and cracking to hydrogen vessel.
As disclosed, the partnership aims to develop the ammonia cracking component of LDA’s FRESH solution, a ship-based processing and storage facility for low-carbon ammonia and hydrogen.
This 170-meter-long vessel features a substantial storage capacity of 45,000 cbm for imported ammonia and can convert it into hydrogen using an ‘innovative’ cracking plant integrated on the vessel deck.