Swedish group Stena, owner of Stena Line, has signed an agreement to acquire Norwegian ferry operator Color Line from industrialist Olav Nils Sunde and his family. The deal is subject to regulatory approval.
Under the agreement to purchase shares, Stena's fully owned subsidiary, Stena Rederi, will buy the entire shareholding in Color Group from ONS Invest II, the Sunde family's holding company. Color Group owns Color Line and its subsidiaries outright.
The parties have not disclosed the value of the transaction.
Completion is expected towards the end of the first quarter or during the second quarter of 2027.
Stena said it intends Color Line to operate as a standalone business under its own brand, with management based locally in Norway and ships registered in Norway. Pending approval, the transaction will leave sailings and bookings at both operators unchanged.
Color Line operates five ships on four international routes from Norway: Color Fantasy and Color Magic on Oslo–Kiel, SuperSpeed 1 on Kristiansand–Hirtshals, SuperSpeed 2 on Larvik–Hirtshals, and Color Hybrid on Sandefjord–Strömstad.
In 2025, the company moved close to 3.6 million passengers and 150,000 freight units.
The agreement follows Stena Line’s acquisition of Finnish operator Wasaline and of terminal operations in Liepaja, Latvia, both completed earlier this year.