
The Italian Competition Authority has
MSC Group has announced the commitments made by the MSC Group to enable the
early closure of the investigation that the Antitrust Authority has launched at the
end of last year on the acquisition by the
49% of the Moby shipping company and
market effects of the large financing of
243 million euros granted at the end of 2023 by the group to Moby
(
of
18
November 2024).
Specifying that he believes "that his behavior is
fully legitimate state and in compliance with competition law'
and that the proposed commitments, "on the one hand, do not constitute a
no way admission of responsibility with respect to the
conduct subject to dispute in the I872 proceeding; on the other hand
are fully eligible and suitable for the loss of the profiles
potentially anti-competitive subject to the investigation',
the company SAS Shipping Agencies Services of the MSC group has
committed "to the immediate sale of the 49% held in Moby
with waiver of the consideration in favour of the shareholder of
majority; the immediate renunciation of the pledge on 51% of Moby; to
assignment of receivables from Moby to an independent third-party company
and/or total abatement
or partial of the same in a short time, as early as the end of 2025".
In addition, the shipping company Grandi Navi Veloci (GNV) of the
MSC group, also expressing the firm conviction "to
having acted legitimately", undertook,
with regard to the Genoa-Porto Torres, Genoa-Olbia maritime services
and Civitavecchia-Olbia, to offer a form of benefit to customers
who have purchased a transport service for
carried out or to be carried out between 1 June and 30 September of
this year and, with regard to the Naples-Palermo route, a similar form
of benefit for Saturday and Sunday transport services
purchased in the period from November 1, 2024 to March 31, 2025.
For his part, Moby, pointing out that he believes "that the
conduct is fully lawful and that therefore the risk -
feared in the Initiation - of a possible deterioration of the
competitive dynamics on the relevant markets related to
the existence of the "structural link" between Moby and MSC
find no foundation", undertook "to
implement a comprehensive plan for the sale of company assets
aimed at ensuring the complete reduction of debt in the
SAS in certain and monitorable times". In
In particular, the plan provides for three phases in which a
census of Moby's non-strategic assets with the aim of
identify those to be alienated and the appointment of an expert who
will determine the price of the identified assets. Therefore, if "the
value of the identified assets is not sufficient to offset
Moby's debt to SAS in full", Moby
is committed "to identifying additional assets that can be
transfer on the market to SAS or to third parties, until the complete
extinction of the debt". At the same time,
identify "one or more third-party entities to which SAS
could assign its residual credit". Finally, it is
will proceed with the stipulation of the transfer contracts. Moby has
also committed to making "every effort to contain the
procedure by 31 December 2025, unless proven and objective
reasons that will be promptly presented to the Authority".
Moby then committed to take part in the
signing of the agreement by which SAS transfers to Onorato
Shipowners share Moby and renounce the pledge in their favor
set up by Onorato Armatori on the Moby shares representing the
51% of the share capital.