Stena AB, owner of ferry operator Stena Line, has agreed to acquire Norwegian shipping company Color Line, subject to regulatory approval.

Privately owned Stena is acquiring Color Line from Norwegian industrialist Olav Nils Sunde and his family. The deal will bring together two companies with complementary operations in European passenger and freight transport.

Following completion, Stena intends to keep Color Line as a separate and independent business and brand, with local management in Norway and Norwegian-registered ships. Stena said it will use its industrial expertise, reach and experience to strengthen and develop Color Line, including in decarbonisation, technology and digitalisation, customer service and logistics.

The Swedish company added that the agreement will not affect sailings, bookings or ongoing customer and supplier relationships at Color Line or Stena-owned Stena Line. Both companies will continue to operate as separate, independent businesses while the transaction awaits regulatory approval.

The transaction will be structured as a share purchase agreement under which Stena AB’s wholly owned subsidiary, Stena Rederi AB, will acquire all shares in Color Group AS from ONS Invest II AS. ONS Invest II is wholly owned by Olav Nils Sunde and his family.

ONS Invest II owns 100% of Color Group, which in turn owns 100% of Color Line and its subsidiaries. The parties have agreed not to disclose the value of the proposed transaction.

The deal is subject to regulatory review and is expected to be completed towards the end of Q1 or during Q2 2027.

Stena Line operates 40 ships on 19 routes in Northern Europe and the Mediterranean, with a total of 35,000 sailings annually.

Color Line AS operates a fleet of five ships on four international ferry routes, calling at seven ports in Norway, Germany, Denmark and Sweden. In 2025, the company generated revenue of more than NOK6.7 billion (€645m) and carried nearly 3.6 million passengers and 150,000 freight units to and from Norway.