Mermaid News

Erria A/S Announces Acquisition
of Mermaid Maritime Vietnam

June 8, 2020

As announced through the NASDAQ First North Alternative Market Platform earlier today, Erria A/S (”Erria”) has entered into a conditional agreement to acquire the business activities of the Vietnamese company Mermaid Maritime Vietnam JSC (”Mermaid”).

Kristian Svarrer, representing the seller of Mermaid to Erria and a director of the board of directors of Erria, said: “Since 2011, my family has had business operations in Vietnam through Mermaid. We are very proud of the achievements that the Mermaid team has made through all these years and it was no easy decision for us to part ways with Mermaid, but we have determined that Mermaid will be better positioned to realize its significant growth potential with new owners at the helm.”

Solidifying the Erria Presence in Vietnam

Erria is no stranger to Vietnam having been running maritime and shore-based operations there since 2003 through its various subsidiaries, including Sea-Saigon Shipping and later on Erria Container Services (ECS).

Erria’s primary market focus has in recent years been to offer container shipping lines and container lessors container storage and repair services in North and South Vietnam.

During the early years Erria partnered with Vietnamese Saigon Shipping to offer services which included crewing, vessel operations and related shoreside activities.

“On behalf of the board of directors and management of Erria, I am extremely delighted to welcome the employees, customers, vendors and other stakeholders of Mermaid to the Erria family.  Mermaid is a very attractive and successful enterprise with a proven business model and long-standing history of excellence.  The accomplishments and competencies of the Mermaid employees speak for themselves and we will continue the Mermaid tradition of being an attractive and responsible employer,” said Henrik N. Andersen, chief executive officer of Erria.

Business as Usual

Erria will run Mermaid as a separate business unit headed by its current leadership under Søren V. Mortensen, the general director of Mermaid.  With the support of Erria’s existing organization and leadership in Vietnam, where appropriate, Erria will support Mermaid’s strong commercial focus on building value for Mermaid’s customers.

Kristian Svarrer stated: “When we made the decision to sell Mermaid, it was essential for us that the new owners would share the same values as us in running Mermaid in the future.  We feel we have achieved this objective with Erria taking over the ownership.  I am looking forward to continuing in my role as a director of Mermaid and support the strong customer relationships that Mermaid has built over the years thanks to all the loyal and experienced Mermaid team members.  One of our goals was to continue to operate Mermaid as we have in the past.  I am confident that Mermaid under Erria’s ownership will not only be able to continue its business as usual, but also expand into new customer or products segments.”

About Mermaid

Mermaid was founded in Vietnam in 2004 and distributes and services safety, life-saving and firefighting equipment and accessories.  The 34 Mermaid employees based in Vung Tau, Vietnam serve international shipowners and the oil and gas industry in Vietnam.  Mermaid is certified by several manufacturers of this type of products and also the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS).

Erria is now in the process of completing its due diligence and the regulatory steps related to the ownership change.

About Erria

Headquartered in Denmark, Erria is an international marine and logistics services company with operations in Denmark, Vietnam and Ghana.  With nearly 250 employees and associates across the world, the Erria Group every day serves the needs of container shipping companies, ship owners and several other actors in the shipping and logistics sector.  The Erria stock is traded at the NASDAQ First North platform in Copenhagen, Denmark (Bloomberg code: ERRI:DC – ISIN: DK0060101483).

More Information about Mermaid

For further information about Mermaid, please visit the Mermaid website at http://www.mermaid-safety.vn/ or contact Henrik N. Andersen at +45 3336 4400.