Le Maire: STX-Fincantieri Shipyard Deal to Happen

The merger of Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri with STX France will go ahead as planned, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Friday, speaking after a period of tension between the Italian and French governments.

"The STX-Fincantieri deal will happen because we want it, because it is our ambition and because it is in our interest to create a shipyard giant, notably in Asia," Le Maire said, speaking at a Franco-Italian business summit in Versailles also attended by his Italian counterpart, Giovanni Tria.

"I believe in this merger, I believe in a tie-up between France and Italy in naval matters and I say that for an STX-Fincantieri tie-up as well as a tie-up between Fincantieri and Naval Group that the French government believes is justified, useful and necessary," he added.

Aside from the STX-Fincantieri deal, Paris and Rome are exploring the creation of a Franco-Italian naval group involving French military shipyard Naval Group and Fincantieri, a move to ward off the threat from industrial powers such as China and the United States.

Reporting by Myriam Rivet