A transitory nationalisation, just long enough to get around the Fincantieri "obstacle". This, according to Le Monde, is the plan that would have come up with the French government on the sale of the historic shipyards of Saint-Nazaire, of which Paris currently holds 33,34%: the remainder, up to now in the hands of Korean Stx through its subsidiary Stx France, is now for sale and the Italian group had presented the best offer to acquire the majority of the capital.
But the French, who do not disdain investing in Italy, are not about to be "robbed" of their family jewels: the plant on the Atlantic is in fact considered strategic and the unions are pushing Hollande, a few weeks before the presidential elections yes, they see the Socialist Party defeated but with the possibility of taking former Economy Minister Macron to the Elysée, to trip up any foreign buyers. In particular, the aspect that most worries Paris is that Fincantieri, as it intends, could take over the absolute majority (up to 67%, if it were to take over the entire package in the hands of Stx France), while for the transalpines it would be preferable that other shareholders, perhaps French, should join, in order to limit the share of the Italian group to 49%.
On the matter, which is becoming increasingly thorny and which will certainly have political repercussions in relations between the two countries, also intervened Claudio Costamagna, president of the Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (Fincantieri is 71,6% owned by Fintecna, a joint stock company headed by CDP): “Shameful and unacceptable attitude: let's hope it's just a French pre-election maneuver and therefore after the elections it can be resolved. As Italians we are truly ashamed of this attitude of the French. It is absolutely unacceptable for a country like France to take a position like this, especially in light of everything the French have done in Italy". For the CEO of Cdp, Fabio Gallia, Fincantieri's commitment to take control of Stx France "is an extremely complex game that has our total support".
