French Economy Minister Bruno Le
Maire said Thursday that Paris has decided to exercise its
pre-emption rights on STX capital, blocking Fincantieri's
takeover of the French shipyard.
The case has caused considerable tension between Paris and
Rome in recent days.
Fincantieri in May bought 66.6% of STX France from South
Korea's STX Offshore and Shipbuilding as part of bankruptcy
proceedings but on Wednesday Le Maire said Paris would exercise
its pre-emption rights unless Fincantieri accepted an offer to
divide STX's capital 50-50.
Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan said Wednesday that Italy
was ready to talk about the deal, but stressed that he saw no
reason why Fincantieri should renounce having control of STX.
Industry Ministry Carlo Calenda said the agreement would
collapse if France insisted on a 50-50 split.
Le Maire said Thursday that the move to use the pre-emption
rights was "temporary" and aimed at buying time to "negotiate
the best possible conditions for Fincantieri's participation in
the Saint-Nazaire shipyards".
He added that "there are no suspicions about our Italian
friends" and would discuss the issue with Padoan and Calenda in
Rome on Tuesday.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA