STX : the government does not exclude that the Italian Fincantieri is a minority – The Figaro

The secretary of State in charge of Industry has reaffirmed the position of the State in the aftermath of the court decision, south-Korean holding back the takeover offer from Fincantieri for the shipyards of Saint-Nazaire.

The folder of STX France seems far from closing. The secretary of State in charge of Industry, Christophe Sirugue, said during his trip to Saint-Nazaire Wednesday, that the State did not exclude that the buyer of the subsidiary françaisevalidé by the justice of the Korean remains in the minority in the capital.

“I would remind you that with 33%, we have a blocking minority, but it is clear that our project, the one that we discuss with Fincantieri, is not necessarily a case that Fincantieri would be the majority alone”, he said. “What is expressed by some and by others, it is the desire to have an industrial reference (…) to Have an industrial reference, this is not necessarily a industrial majority”. For the time being, however, no agreement has been signed for the acquisition of 66,6% of STX France, since prior to that, the Italian is yet to show white paw, and enter into negotiations with the French State.

“the interest of The French State it is to preserve our flagship, I believe it is on this basis that the discussion”, said Christophe Sirugue, during an interview on RMC, earlier in the day. “In the discussion with Fincantieri, we must organize things in such a way that the industrial property that is ultimately the value of the shipyards of Saint-Nazaire may not be able to go with the exchanges that occur also on other sites”. A position with which it is granted, Stéphane Le Foll, the government spokesman. “One is a shareholder, therefore, the State will present conditions which are: the continuity of the activity, the securing of know-how and the ability to project into the future,” he said on France Info radio,

In fact, the government is seeking to reassure local elected officials, and labor unions, which fear very strongly deletions of positions. And for good reason, the two companies, operating on the same market, are direct competitors. A buyout of STX France by Fincantieri would necessarily duplicate, the Italian group would be forced to remove. The mayor of Saint-Nazaire, David Samzun, for its part, estimated on France Bleu Ocean that “the French State can build a complementary proposal” using as a lever DCNS and the Caisse des dépôts et consignations. According to the mayor PS, “the party is not lost” and “I would rather see a evil eye that Fincantieri is in the majority and it is therefore the patron of our building”.