A consortium of European investors has bought Scandlines Group, a ferry operator in the Baltic region.

The consortium was led by Allianz Capital Partners, venture capitalist and private equity group 3i and Deutsche Seereederei. 3i financed the deal through its funds managed and advised in Frankfurt and Copenhagen.

The group was sold by Deutsche Bahn and the Danish Ministry of Transport and Energy.

Allianz Capital Partners and 3i will each hold 40% of the shares of the consortium while Deutsche Seereederei will hold the balance.

The consortium plans to further strengthen and develop the Scandlines Group as a ferry shipping company in the Baltic Sea region.

Post-completion Jan Stenberg, the former chief executive of SAS and a former supervisory board member of Lufthansa, has been appointed as chairman of the supervisory board of the Scandlines Group.

Deloitte Corporate Finance was lead financial adviser to 3i. Its team was led by managing partner René Steen Larsen, who was assisted by industry specialists Jacob Therkelsen, a partner, and manager Mathias T. Thomsen.

The firm has worked on several previous deals for the Danish Ministry of Transport and Scandlines. “An understanding of the political issues surrounding the company, put Deloitte in a position to team up with the most keen potential buyer – 3i,” Larsen said.

The deal took 18 months to complete and included 20 first round bidders, which was reduced to six second round bidders and a six-month signing period with negotiations between vendors and the final buying consortium.

“Scandlines has operated under disputes between the two former owners since the merger, and as a consequence no key strategic decisions have been taken towards the direction of the business.

“The buying consortium has developed a long-term business plan, aiming at strengthening and developing the Scandlines group as a leading shipping company in the Baltic region,” Larsen added.

The Danish Ministry of Transportation was advised by Christian T. Kjølbye of Plesner. Kjølbye said the disposal was challenging for several reasons, and it took a great team effort to bring it to a successful completion.

“The excellent co-operation between all advisers, not least Deutsche Bahn’s adviser on the legal side, Hengeler Mueller, was an outstanding experience.”

Scandlines made a €130 million (£87.1 million) profit last year from a €547 million (£366.6 million) turnover. It has 2,900 employees and was formed following a merger between Danish and German state-owned ferry operations in 1998.