The French president’s ‘last-minute’ decision to temporarily nationalise the shipyard to prevent an Italian take-over in July triggered a diplomatic row between France and Italy.
In a press conference with Italian prime minister Paolo Gentiloni today, Mr Macron said: “The agreement provides a win-win situation for both sides… We’ve settled for a 50-50 ownership deal, with far-reaching guarantees.
“It’s obviously different to the one that Italy agreed to in May, but it will allow Fincantieri to run the shipyard.”
STX’s Saint-Nazaire shipyard in western France is the only one in the country big enough to build aircraft carriers and other warships, making it a strategic national asset.
Under the terms of Wednesday’s agreement, Fincantieri will take a 50 per cent stake in STX, the French state will hold a 34.34 per cent stake, Naval Group 10 per cent, STX staff two per cent and STX local suppliers 3.66 per cent.
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France has agreed to ‘lend’ Fincantieri a one per cent stake for 12 years in order to allow the Italian firm to take effective control of the shipyard.
The French state, however, reserves the right to strip Fincantieri of that one per cent if it fails to honour commitments on jobs, governance or intellectual property.
The deal ended a diplomatic row that had been threatening to boil over into an all-out crisis ever since Mr Macron ordered the “temporary” nationalisation of STX in July, ripping up a prior deal signed off by his predecessor, François Hollande, in which Fincantieri and another Italian investor had agreed to buy 54.6 per cent of STX from its bankrupt South Korean owner for 79.5 million euros (£69.9 million).
Paris exercised a pre-emption right to repurchase the controlling stake in STX amid growing concerns for jobs and the shipyard’s strategic importance, angering Rome and jeopardising the deal.
The French head of state eventually softened his stance on the terms of the agreement, admitting that the creation of European champions such as STX would contribute to warding off the threat posed by industrial powers in China and the United States.
French finance minister Bruno Le Maire also welcomed the landmark deal, saying: “I hope that in the naval sector … we can also move towards a world giant in terms of industrial, naval construction – on a European scale.”