Antitrust Probe Sinks MSC-Moby Ferry Partnership in Italy

Italy's antitrust regulator said on Friday that Shipping Agencies Services (SAS), a unit of maritime group MSC, would drop its acquisition of a 49% stake in ferry operator Moby after the watchdog opened a probe into alleged restriction of competition.

Moby, majority-owned by Onorato Armatori group, runs ferries linking Italy's mainland to tourist islands such as Sardinia and Corsica.

The Italian authority, which opened an investigation into the acquisition last year, said the deal could have weakened competition on routes where Moby and ferry company Grandi Navi Veloci (GNV), controlled by SAS, operate.

Under the commitments offered by SAS and Moby, SAS will transfer to Onorato Armatori its 49% stake in Moby without consideration, the watchdog said in a statement.

Moby will mandate an independent third party to open a "competitive and transparent" procedure for the sale of a package of assets, the proceeds of which will be used to repay a loan granted to Moby by SAS in 2023.

SAS and Moby will also provide compensation to customers who bought tickets before July 16.

(Reuters - Reporting by Gianluca Semeraro, editing by Gavin Jones)