Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri selected as preferred bidder for STX France

By Park Sae-jin Posted : January 4, 2017, 09:20 Updated : January 4, 2017, 09:20

[Aju News DB]


Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri, which maintains a strategic partnership with a Chinese company, has been selected as the preferred bidder for STX France, a subsidiary of South Korea's insolvent shipbuilder, according to a bankruptcy court.

Since STX Offshore and Shipbuilding, once South Korea's fourth-largest shipbuilder, was placed under receivership in May last year, the court has pushed for the sale of key STX assets at home and abroad.

The Seoul Central District Court has preferred the sale of STX shipyards in South Korea and France together, although it did not rule out a separate sale. The parent company owns 66 percent of the French subsidiary.

The deal with Fincantieri, however, requires approval from France, which holds a 33 percent stake in STX France capable of building a large naval ship. Because of its strategic importance, the sale of STX France has been a keen issue in France.

"Fincantieri was the only one to make a last and final offer by the due date, Monday, December 26," French daily Le Monde reported, adding the French government is keen to see DCNS, a state-controlled naval specialist, buying a minority stake of the shipyard.

There has been anxiety in France because Fincantieri agreed to transfer technology to China State Shipbuilding Corp. when the two set up a joint venture in June, the daily said.  DCNS would rely on the STX yard to build the next helicopter carrier or aircraft carrier, so the acquisition by a Chinese company would be a cause for concern, it said.
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