The French state has a 33% stake in STX France. Last year, STX France delivered the largest passenger ship ever built – the ‘Harmony of the Seas’.
A spokesman for South Korea’s court has reported that the court had given formal approval for Italy’s Fincantieri to be the preferred bidder to acquire STX France.
The move will allow Fincantieri to clinch the deal and seal its dominant position in the cruise shipbuilding market.
When asked to respond to requests for comments, the spokesman for Seoul’s court declined to provide any further details. A spokesman for Fincantieri declined to comment.
STX France, which specializes in building cruise ships, forms part of South Korea’s STX shipbuilding group.
Fincantieri, a 230 year old Italy state owned company, makes ships ranging from luxury yachts, cruise ships to military aircraft carriers.
In 2014, Fincantieri made its debut on the Milan stock exchange.
With this news hitting the market, Fincantieri’s shares rose by 2.5%.
“The deal would definitively strengthen Fincantieri’s leadership position in the cruise segment and in the medium-long term we believe it could also enhance the group’s fundamentals,” stated a note from analysts at Banca IMI in a research note to clients.
In recent times, despite facing strong headwinds from issues such as the Zika virus scare and volatility in currency fluctuations, the holiday cruise industry has shown signs of resilience.
Although Fincantieri declined to comment on the price it has offered for STX France, Banca IMI had previously stated that it expected Fincantieri’s offer to be below 100 million euros.
The acquisition is likely to raise Fincantieri’s market share in the cruise shipbuilding industry to nearly 60% from its current 40%-45%.
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