Canadian shipyard owner Davie has acquired Finland’s Helsinki Shipyard with its own money and backing from the Canadian government.
Davie, which owns Davie Shipbuilding in Quebec, Canada, has purchased the facility from Russian-owned Algador Holdings.
Davie did not disclose how much it paid for the yard, but it did say that it acquired it through a combination of its own funds and €77m ($110m) of financing from the Quebec government.
The government financing consisted of an equity investment of €30m and a loan of €47m. A large portion of these funds will go to ensuring the shipyard has working capital while it becomes operational and secures new business, Davie said.
Davie Shipbuilding and Helsinki Shipyard will be separate legal and operating entities, but they will both be headquartered in Quebec.
Davie began the acquisition process for Helsinki Shipyard, a maker of Arctic ice-breaking vessels, in December 2022.
Three months later, the group exercised an exclusive option to purchase the yard’s assets and, in April, signed a business purchase agreement. It then secured a new 50-year land lease from the City of Helsinki on 4 July.
“We are delighted to bring two historic and highly complementary businesses together,” Davie chief executive James Davies said in a statement.
“It would not have been possible without the support of Quebec, the City of Helsinki, Finland and Canada.”
Davie is owned by Inocea Group, an international marine, defence and industrial business founded by Davies and Inocea chief executive Alex Vicefield.
“Linking together the capabilities, capacity and expertise of the two global leaders in ice-class vessel and ice breaker construction is a strategically important development for the Western world,” Vicefield said in a statement.
“The Arctic is critical for future security, trade, navigation and the environment and Inocea is proud to be at the forefront of this next frontier.”
