Louis Dreyfus Armateurs: New ownership, new CEO and new name

Samira Draoua

One of France’s best known shipping companies has a new majority owner, a new CEO, and will soon get a new name. The Louis-Dreyfus family has sold an 80% stake in Louis Dreyfus Armateurs (LDA) to Paris-headquartered InfraVia Capital Partners’ InfraVia European Fund VI.

The Louis-Dreyfus family retains a 20% share, with Edouard Louis-Dreyfus remaining president of the group. Effective today, Samira Draoua assumes the role of CEO of LDA.

With a career spanning finance, digital transformation, and maritime operations in both France and abroad, Draoua previously served as CEO of digital services specialist Econocom France and president of Le Havre-based towage company Les Abeilles International.

Louis Dreyfus Armateurs will soon be renamed LD Armateurs (LDA). With InfraVia support, LDA says that it plans to invest EUR 1 billion over the coming years. This investment, it says, will enable the group to more than double its fleet and accelerate its growth in technological innovation, energy transition, and the development of next-generation maritime services and navigation modes.