As new stakeholder joins, LDA ready to future-proof business with €1B investment

July 1, 2025, by Naida Hakirevic Prevljak

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.

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