Damen Shipyards Group has taken over the Daewoo Mangalia Heavy Industries (DMHI) shipyard in Romania with the aim of boosting its international activities.
A deal with restructuring Korean shipbuilder DSME will see it buy a majority holding.
DMHI was established in 1997 as a joint venture between DSME and 2 Mai Mangalia Shipyard.
Clarksons lists just one vessel on order at the plant, an aframax tanker due this month for Minerva Marine.
DSME said it had agreed to sell 51% of the yard for KRW 29bn ($25.9m).
“The sale is expected to improve corporate finances and boost profitability,” said a DSME official quoted by the Pulse website.
Reports in Korea had linked Damen to the deal this summer at a price of between KRW 50bn ($43.5m) and KRW 80bn.
DMHI has racked up losses of $800m over the last five years, according to Romanian economy minister Alexandru Petrescu.
It has built 127 tankers and boxships.
The Black Sea yard has an area of 980,000 square metres, with three drydocks of a total length of 982 metres, and 1.6km of berthing space.
The docks, with a width of between 48 and 60 metres, will provide Damen with capacity to cater for the largest maritime vessels and structures.
Damen already has the Galati shipyard in Romania, which is currently its largest.
"With the Mangalia shipyard, Damen will have its two largest shipyards in close proximity to one another," Damen said.
Romanian competition authorities have already approved the transaction.
"Furthermore, constructive meetings are being held with the Romanian government in relation to future cooperation in Mangalia and the further development of the Romanian shipbuilding industry," Damen added.
The Dutch group has also bought the Keppel Verolme shipyard from Singapore’s Keppel Offshore & Marine this year.
