L?rssen Acquires Blohm+Voss

On Thursday, Bremen-based shipbuilders Lürssen announced the acquisition of Hamburg superyacht and naval yard Blohm+Voss.

The takeover fulfills a longstanding strategic goal for Lürssen and brings the group’s total size to 2,800 employees at six locations.

Managing partner Peter Lürssen emphasized the repair and military aspects of Blohm+Voss's portfolio in justifying the acquisition. 

"We want to use these facilities to complement our existing refit and repair activities and also to offer our customers an ever better service," he said. "In addition, we would like to utilise the competence and experience of the shipyard and its employees for the new build of complex naval ships and continue their production at the Hamburg site. The construction of yachts at the Hamburg yard will depend on the overall market situation and it is difficult to judge at this time."

Blohm+Voss has already been working with Lürssen to build the German Navy’s F125 frigate class, and the firms say that the previous collaboration will smooth the integration of the two firms' design and engineering teams. 

Hamburg official Frank Horch said that it was an important event for the yard, which is an iconic part of the city and a component of the port's attractiveness for merchant shipping. 

Meinhard Geiken of shipyard workers' union IG Metall Küste said that the takeover was a surprise, but a promising development for Blohm+Voss. Regarding the yard’s employment, Peter Lürssen said that the firm "will discuss the necessary steps to efficiently adopt the individual capabilities of the shipyard into our group and secure the balance between our shipyards in the future and together, navigate through the difficult market situation we find ourselves in today."

Observers expect Lürssen to retain the Blohm+Voss name, but the firm told Spiegel that this has not yet been decided.

The agreement is still subject to approval from the German Fair Trade Commission.