DFDS — M&A Activity 2011

Jul 26, 2011

Copenhagen, 2011-07-26 15:54 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Company Announcement no.
18/2011

-- Joint bid by DFDS and Louis Dreyfus Armateurs Group

DFDS and the French shipping Group Louis Dreyfus Armateurs have today made a
joint bid for certain assets of SeaFrance. The bid is subject to certain
conditions, including approval by relevant competition authorities.

The bid is made in response to an announcement by the receiver appointed for
SeaFrance requesting bids to be made by 26 July 2011. SeaFrance went into
receivership in June 2010.

SeaFrance operates a short-sea passenger and freight route between Dover and
Calais deploying three ro-pax ships and one ro-ro ship. In 2010 the route
transported 2.9m pax and 551 ths freight units.

If the bid is successful DFDS and Louis Dreyfus Armateurs will form a jointly
owned company, with DFDS as the majority shareholder, to acquire the assets of
SeaFrance. It is furthermore the intention to transfer DFDS' Dover - Dunkirk
route and Louis Dreyfus Armateurs' ferry shipping activities, LD Lines, to the
joint company.

Louis Dreyfus Armateurs is a French shipping Group operating in several market
segments, including bulk, offshore and ferry shipping. The company's ferry
shipping activities, LD Lines, were established in 2003 and currently comprises
four routes.

Background of bid
The participation in the bid, and cooperation with Louis Dreyfus Armateurs
Group, reflects DFDS' strategy of building a European integrated shipping and
logistics network.

Contact persons
Niels Smedegaard, CEO
+45 33 42 34 00

Torben Carlsen, CFO
+45 33 42 32 01

Søren Brøndholt Nielsen, IR
+45 33 42 33 59