OT Africa Line Acquired by the Bollore Group

The Bollore Group has signed a contract with the aim of acquiring OT Africa Line, the British shipping line, and its landside network in Africa. The object of this move is to reinforce the Group’s position in the Europe-Africa trade with the important contribution that OTAL can make, particularly in the traffic flows from the UK, Germany and Benelux to the anglophone markets of Ghana and Nigeria.

The OTAL organisation will remain independent from Delmas, a Bollore Group liner shipping subsidiary, although potential economies in matters of common interest such as ships and containers will be researched and evaluated. Moreover OTAL’s management team will remain based in London. In Africa, where OTAL has established significant landside operations, the Bollore Group will endeavour to maintain the autonomy of this network in order to continue to serve its client lines independently as it did in the past when it acquired the SAGA network.

The contract will become final when agreement is given by the various national competition authorities.