After the rumors published on Wednesday morning by the newspaper Le Monde comes the news that everyone has been waiting for. After a long negotiation, Italy and France have reached an agreement on the Stx-Fincantieri affair. While the summit between the Prime Minister, Paolo Gentiloni, and the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, was still ongoing in Lyon confirmations have arrived from government sources (both Italian and French). Then, at the end of the bilateral summit, the comments of the leaders themselves arrived. "On Stx and on Lyon-Turin Italy and France have won together", begins Macron which confirmed France's full commitment to the high-speed train and assured that by the end of the first quarter of 2018, Paris "will clarify the future terms of the main tunnel". With Fincantieri, he continued, "it's a win-win agreement and to those who say it's a terrible agreement, I want to remind you that until a few months ago the majority shareholder of the shipyards was Korean".
"We got a great deal on Stx Shipyards. We have found, working in friendship, a solution that allows the partner and the shareholder to manage and allows France, as it should, to have guarantees in terms of the technical work that France had asked for", comments Paolo Gentiloni in turn, " the solution found guarantees these two needs”. "This agreement will create a great novelty in the global naval landscape", "it is only the first step of an ambitious project, that of trying to create a major global player in the civil and military naval industry".
The Italian giant will have the fate of Stx in hand. Going into the details of the agreement, Fincantieri will directly control 50% dthe Saint Nazaires. To this percentage is added a share of1% loan from the transalpine state with "right of return", that is to say that for the next "12 years" France will be able to take back the Stx shipyards if Fincantieri does not respect the industrial commitments undersigned. These "commitments" will be verified during regular appointments between the parties.
They will go to the Trieste company both control and governance of construction sites. It will be up to her to appoint both the CEO and the chairman who will have a preponderant vote in the event of a tie (the so-called casting vote).
The company led by Giuseppe Bono conquers the majority after months and months of negotiations, also characterized by periods of strong friction that reached their climax last July, with Macron's decision to temporarily nationalize the company. At the end of the summit
Sources from the Ministry of the Economy and that of Economic Development cited by Ansa underline that the agreement "is an improvement on the previous one from all points of view". Fincantieri, according to what the aforementioned sources told the press agency, “will have direct availability of 51%, something not granted in the previous agreement which provided for 48% to Fincantieri and 4% to an Italian financial institution. The Italian company will also have president, chief executive officer and majority in the board through the casting vote".
From civilian to military, but it will take time
The agreement concerns the civilian, while as regards the military there are still no official confirmations. Based on expectations, the negotiations will be much longer. The aim is to create a European naval giant, already called "Airbus of the seas" capable of excelling in construction, systems engineering and services. "Once the Stx affair has been unblocked - the same sources tell Ansa - it will be possible to proceed with studying the construction of a world champion in the naval, civil and military sector, through an equal partnership between Italy and France". Macron himself, without going into details, however specified that “There will be intense military cooperation but that will be enhanced by starting with our naval industries for a world-class champion, cooperation will be strengthened on the ground”.
The news of the agreement reached sent a tailspin the Fincantieri stock on the Stock Exchange: a few minutes after the announcement, the shares reached an intraday low of 1,06 euros, marking a red of 2%. At 17.30, the stock dropped 0,6% to 1,09 euro. Very high volumes. More than 21 million pieces have changed hands since this morning.
In this context, it should be noted that since the beginning of the year Fincantieri has increased by 132,8%. Before the agreement was made official, the stock had already reduced the increases in the morning, reaching parity.
A road map defined on Libya. The Vivendi-Tim knot
"We have established a road map on Libya: to prevent human trafficking, joint action to fight against the establishment of terrorist groups in Libya and finally stabilize migratory pressure", Macron then announced. “We will cooperate to stabilize the migration issue in Libya. It is essential that international rules are respected in the refugee camps”. “We must be able to do more and work on a joint agenda in order to be able to advance already bilaterally in Europe”.
The summit presumably also touched on another delicate chapter in Italy-France relations, namely that of Vivendi's control over Tim. “I understand the topical connection, because it is being discussed in my country, but Vivendi-Telecom is a very different story from Stx-Fincantieri. They are private companies from which we only ask for compliance with Italian laws and European rules, in Italy as in France", Gentiloni limited himself to underlining. “We have to be modest, between Telecom and others, these are private players, we don't have the means to bind them, they have private capital. It is not state policy,” observed French President Emmanuel Macron instead.
Updated at 21,00 on Wednesday 27 September
