French industry minister says to continue STX France talks with Fincantieri

French industry minister Christophe Sirugue said he would meet Italy’s Fincantieri in a week’s time to discuss its bid for STX France, but added France was still against Fincantieri gaining dominance in the governance of STX France.

“Our position is that we do not want Fincantieri to be the sole majority shareholder in the governance of Saint-Nazaire shipyards,” Sirugue told Reuters on Friday, speaking on the sidelines of a news conference in Paris.

“We continue to work with Fincantieri and we will probably have to meet again in a week’s time”.

Attempts by the French government to ensure that Fincantieri does not take a majority stake in STX France are “unacceptable”, a top Italian Treasury official said in La Repubblica newspaper on Feb 16.

The sale of STX France, which specialises in building cruise ships at the Saint-Nazaire shipyard and is profitable, forms part of a broader sell-off of businesses following the demise of the South Korean STX shipbuilding group.

The French state has said it aims to keep its 33 percent stake with blocking rights in STX France, which Fincantieri is interested in to gain a foothold in the cruise shipbuilding market.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Jean-Baptiste Vey; Writing by Maya Nikolaeva; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta)