The French Government says nine companies, five of them French, have expressed an interest in buying state-owned Compagnie Generale Maritime. They have until October 3 to make a firm offer for the loss-making shipping company.
They include Compagnie Maritime d'Affretement, Compagnie Maritime Antilles Guyane, Compagnie Viking, Marseilles Fret and a grouping of French businessmen known as G7, Messines Gestion, Scorimar, Electro-Services, led by financier Georges Pebereau.
Among the four foreign bidders are Hamburg-based Deutsche Afrika Linien, London-based OT Africa Line and Oslo-based Wilhelmsen Lines. There is also SAF Marine-CMBT Lines, a jointly owned unit of South Africa's Safmarine and Rennies and Belgium's Compagnie Maritime Belge.
