Minoan Wary of Italian Bid

From Lloydâs List (www.lloydslist.com)

 

Italian shipowner Romano Artioli extended an olive branch to Minoan Lines at the Greek ferry operator's general assembly in Crete at the weekend. Mr Artioli, who recently surprised the Greek ferry market with a purchase of a 5.3% stake in Cretan-based Minoan - and by some accounts now controls close to 7% of the stock - surfaced to say he wanted to co-operate with existing management and take the company forward.

 

In spite of this, Minoan's chairman Costas Klironomos pledged that the company would not "fall into foreign hands", stating that any bid to grab a controlling stake would be bitterly resisted. 

The remarks followed a similar rallying call made by Mr Klironomos a few days earlier at the annual meeting of Hellas Flying Dolphins, the Greek coastal giant in which Minoan holds a 31.6% stake. There he called for support from the Greek state and the banking sector to protect the identity of Greek ferry companies, saying "a patriotic rally is needed".

 

Minoan is at present studying a move to absorb loss-making HFD, an issue not likely to be decided until the autumn, but in the meantime is itself trying to restore profitability. Last year, Minoan lost E 25.4m ($29m), on top of E 13.8m in 2001, attributing the plunge deeper in the red mainly to paper losses on securities sales and valuation of participations in other companies. 

 

Mr Artioli reportedly controls the cross-Adriatic ferry operation Maritime Way, employing three older ferries acquired from Minoan.