SeaFrance has dismissed claims by LD Lines parent company, LDA, that it is planning a takeover of the ferry operator. The French Shipping giant Louis Dreyfus Armateurs (LDA) issued a statement today saying it is launching a bid to take control of SeaFrance and merge it with its subsidiary LD Lines.

But a spokesman for SeaFrance said: “This is LD Lines getting cheap plug for their recently launched routes and the bid has no value.”

Earlier this month, SeaFrance's owner, French rail operator SNCF, announced a major restructure of the business to counter the effects of strike action, the rising cost of fuel and the economic downturn.

It said SeaFrance is faced with "an unprecedented situation exacerbated particularly by the steep fall in the cross-Channel freight market, 23% down in January 2009 compared to a year ago and the equivalent of 800,000 trucks in a full year".

It plans to cut staff by 650 and downsize its fleet to align it with the market and to reduce costs. The loss-making ferry company believes these measures will help it achieve a return to break-even by 2010.