Baker & McKenzie advised Costa Cruises on its acquisition of a 33.3% stake in Chantier Naval de Marseille. This deal results from a strategic partnership between Costa Cruises and San Giorgio del Porto, owner of Chantier Naval de Marseille. This agreement aims to develop a cruise ship repair and conversion international center, improving technology and boosting operational efficiency of Chantier Naval de Marseille thanks to a €10 million initial investment.

This strategic partnership – a first of its kind for the Costa Group – will also allow the company to take a further step towards advanced technical management of its multi-brand cruise fleet, including the seven new ships that the company will receive by 2020.

Costa group is the leading cruise company in Europe. The 26 ships of the Costa Cruises, AIDA Cruises and Costa Asia brands have a total capacity of 72,000 beds. The company has a global workforce of 27,000 employees both onboard and shoreside in 20 offices in 14 countries.

San Giorgio del Porto is a leading company in Europe for ship repair and conversion, as well as ship dismantling/recycling, and for new construction projects. Since 2008, the company has been part of the holding Genova Industrie Navali (GIN), formed with another historic Genoese shipyard: T. Mariotti. In 2010, San Giorgio del Porto established Chantier Naval de Marseille, which specializes in ship repair and conversion.

Located in the largest port in France, Chantier Naval de Marseille operates three drydocks, including Dock 10, the biggest graving dock in the Mediterranean.

The Baker & McKenzie Corporate/M&A team included Marco Marazzi (Partner) from Milan and Alyssa Gallot-Auberger (Partner) and Guillaume Nataf (Counsel) from Paris.