Potential Deal Would Give MSC Right to Buy 80% of Germany’s Meyer Werft
Key Facts
MSC could gain the right to buy about 80% of German shipbuilder Meyer Werft, according to a report published by Reuters on November 14, 2026, citing Der Spiegel. The potential agreement would give MSC the right to buy the stake; it is not a completed deal or an ownership transfer that has already taken place. The percentage matters because it is close to the stake held by the federal government and the state of Lower Saxony after the company’s rescue. But reports differed over when the agreement might be signed: Der Spiegel reported that signing could take place on Tuesday, while the state government told NDR that contracts to sell the shipyard would not be signed the following week. Meyer Werft did not comment on Der Spiegel’s report when asked by NDR, the broadcaster said.
According to the Reuters report, the federal government and Lower Saxony each acquired about 40% of the shares at the end of 2024 and together injected 400 million euros in capital. This government stake roughly matches the percentage that the agreement could give MSC the right to buy, making the proposal concern public ownership established during the rescue. NDR said the state and federal government each contributed 200 million euros in taxpayers’ money. These figures show the scale of public intervention that preceded the current negotiations, without meaning that a sale has taken place. The sources did not attribute any stated objective for the potential agreement to MSC or the other parties.
As for the remaining stake, the Der Spiegel report cited by Reuters said the Meyer family holds about 20% and is working with MSC on a joint ownership structure that could increase the family’s stake. The report gave no details on the final ownership percentages or the terms for completing the arrangement, so this remains part of the account of potential negotiations. The company’s roots date back to 1795, according to the report, while the shipyard is based in Papenburg, Lower Saxony. Reuters reported that Germany’s economy ministry would not comment on the ongoing negotiations. MSC and Meyer Werft did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
The negotiations come amid a series of losses recorded by the shipyard in recent years. NDR cited media reports saying Meyer Werft’s losses reached about 260 million euros in 2023, then about 570 million euros in 2024 and 384 million euros in 2025. The company’s management attributed the losses mainly to provisions for old, unprofitable contracts, the broadcaster said. These results put the government rescue in the financial context of accumulated losses, but do not establish that addressing those losses is the stated aim of the potential agreement. The federal government and the state entered the company in 2024, according to NDR, contributing 200 million euros each.
MSC and the shipyard already have a business relationship through a ship order announced in December 2025. Meyer Werft said the agreement covered an order for four next-generation cruise ships, along with two additional options, under the New Frontier platform. The company added at the time that the order would ensure the shipyard’s full operating capacity beyond the current decade. According to specifications announced by Meyer Werft, each ship has a maximum capacity of 5,400 passengers and a gross tonnage of about 180,000. The company said annual ship deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2030. These details place any ownership arrangement in the context of an industrial and commercial relationship already announced by the parties, without establishing that production capabilities will be integrated or that such an aim has been announced for the deal.
Negotiations on the ship order contracts were still ongoing in June 2026, according to a joint statement from MSC Cruises and Meyer Werft. The parties said preparing the complex set of contracts usually takes at least six months and that they were confident negotiations would be completed in the following weeks. The statement provides a timeline for the commercial process between the companies, but does not determine the fate of the current ownership agreement. In July 2026, NDR reported that the budget committee in the federal parliament had approved a federal guarantee for the ship order, while the precise value of the guarantees had not been disclosed, and a potential guarantee from Lower Saxony was under discussion. NDR’s report did not give a specific value for these guarantees.
The next step in the ownership process remains unresolved in light of the position that NDR attributed to Lower Saxony’s government. The state denied that contracts to sell the shipyard would be signed the following week, after a Der Spiegel report said the federal government, the state and MSC planned to sign an agreement on Tuesday. Meyer Werft did not comment on the magazine’s report when asked by NDR. Meanwhile, Germany’s economy ministry told Reuters it would not comment on the ongoing negotiations, and MSC and the shipyard did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The proposed right to buy the government’s stake therefore remains the subject of a media report and negotiations, not an announcement that the sale has been completed.