Fincantieri close to completing Saint-Nazaire deal

Genoa - Barring any sudden snag, a conclusion to the deal is in sight, sometime by the end of April. A change of ownership for Saint-Nazaire, the last great French shipyard, looks set to happen, after being suspended for a few weeks mainly due to politics. The solution that is emerging - as anticipated by Secolo XIX/TheMediTelegraph – foresees Fincantieri holding around 45-49% of the shares of the French shipbuilder. This would satisfy the request, expressed by French President François Hollande, among others, that Fincantieri should not hold a controlling interest in the shipyard, considered to be the jewel of France’s heavy industry. According to the solution outlined by Paris, in this venture one or several partners would come alongside Fincantieri taking a 10% stake in STX France.

The remaining shares would be then divided between the French State (which would retain its current 33%) and the publicly owned French military group, DCNS, with a little over 10% of the shares. As for the partner which is to join forces with Fincantieri through a 10% stake, it will almost certainly be an Italian company. The MSC group, a cruise company based in Switzerland but led by Sorrento-born owner Gianluigi Aponte, remains a possibility, but new entries are not to be excluded. According to sources familiar with the matter, should a tie-up with MSC fail to materialize, a fund or other business entity, either way Italian, would acquire the 10% share of the French shipbuilder. It would seem that US cruise company Royal Caribbean International is now completely out of the picture, though in recent months it had considered the possibility of participating.

Should the above scenario for the acquisition be confirmed, ownership of STX France would be split between an Italian block and a French block, but without any shareholder having more than 50%. For Paris this would be a good compromise, following controversies in France’s political and trade union sphere regarding Fincanteri’s expression of interest, a longstanding competitor of Saint-Nazaire in the cruise ship-building sector. The possibility of reaching an agreement, however, is not attracting unanimous consent. According to banker Philippe Villin, quoted by French newspaper Le Monde, “It makes little difference whether there’s a single or combined Italian interest. It’s unacceptable to cede control of the French shipyard to Italy, at the two-month mark of takeover negotiations.”

Meanwhile, the signing of the final agreements for the sale of STX France, owner of the Saint-Nazaire site, which is currently a subsidiary of the South Korean conglomerate will take place in Seoul in the coming days. On 3 January, the Seoul Central District Commercial Court, which was responsible for managing the bankruptcy of the STX Group, approved the sole bid received for the French shipbuilder, which was that of Fincantieri. The Italian shipbuilder led by Giuseppe Bono, then, seems poised to take possession of Saint-Nazaire in exchange for a figure - which the Italian company never disclosed - reported to be around €80 million. In the following weeks the final details are likely to be ironed out, before an official announcement, which will probably come on the heels of the upcoming French presidential elections.