Balearia’s founder and president Adolfo Utor is now the only owner of the Spanish ferry operator following a deal with the Matutes Group.
After several months of negotiations, the partners have agreed to end their relationship which lasted more than 17 years, according to a Balearia statement on Wednesday.
Adolfo Utor now owns 100 percent of Balearia shares. Previously, he held 57.5 percent of the shares and the group led by Abel Matutes held 42.5 percent, Balearia said.
Matutes would allocate this divestment to its core hotel business, the ferry operator said, but it did not provide any financial details of the transaction.
“We have had a good year, we have overcome the pandemic successfully, and we face the future with renewed energy and enthusiasm,“ Utor said.
Balearia has an LNG-powered ferry named after Abel Matutes. This is one of the six ferries which the company converted to run on LNG.
The Spanish firm recently said that Portugal’s West Sea shipyard had started conversion works on its ferry Hedy Lamarr, the last out of six vessels that will get LNG propulsion.
Following the completion of this retrofit in March next year, Balearia will have six converted LNG ferries and three LNG-powered newbuilds in its fleet.
The ferry operator started converting its ferries back in 2018. Earlier this year, it had welcomed its first LNG-powered fast ferry, Eleanor Roosevelt, as well.