STX-Fincantieri agreement signed

Genova - The agreement paving the way for Fincantieri to join the ownership structure of STX France, the firm that owns the EU’s biggest shipyard - located in St-Nazaire - is now official. Last night, Giuseppe Bono, CEO of the Trieste-based group, flew to Paris Bercy, home of France’s Ministry of Economy, where he signed a formal agreement with the French State, represented by the Agence des Participations de l’Etat (APE). As a witness to the transaction, Christophe Sirugue, Secretary of State for Industry, was also present.

The signing represented a first concrete step taken, following tumultuous negotiations that saw the French government first threatening to nationalize the St-Nazaire yards to prevent them from falling in the hands of Fincantieri, and then doing a sharp U-turn paving the way for the company led by Bono, in partnership with lender CR Trieste, to acquire its historic competitor located at the mouth of the Loire. The memorandum signed yesterday confirmed the intention of the parties to set out the shipyards shareholding structure in which Fincantieri will own 48%, and CR Trieste a 7% stake, DCNS will have a 12% stake, and the French State the remaining 33%.

Missing from the meeting, as far as the Secolo XIX-the MediTelegraph has been able to ascertain, was the sensitive topic of governance, which has been postponed until after the final signing of the acquisition. Such signing, according to two sources, will take place “in no later than sixty days”, a deadline before which Fincantieri will have to reach an agreement with the bankruptcy court in Seoul that is overseeing the sale of various assets which belonged to STX. The next step for CEO Bono is already on the agenda: next Wednesday the top-manager will meet with representatives of the workers in St-Nazaire.

The “hardline” faction of the union, opposed to the presence of Fincantieri in STX France, is very strong, and for this reason Bono’s strategy will be to avoid dangerous clashes with the St-Nazaire workers. Bono has assured the French government that there will be no job losses, and that the independence of the shipyard will not be put into question: this is what he’ll reiterate in a week’s time in front of the workers, hoping for a less hostile climate than that which accompanied the last month of the negotiations.

The Wednesday meeting will not be a purely symbolic moment: following an established practice, the STX employees will have the right to grant or withhold consent for the transaction. A sort of vetting process, but without actual legal status, but still important with regard to future management-unions relations.