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MSC a future shareholder of STX France?MSC a future shareholder of STX France?

MSC Group founder and owner Gianluigi Aponte indicated possible interest in taking a small stake in STX France as the Macron administration renegotiates the sale to limit Fincantieri's control.

Michèle Valandina, French correspondent

June 2, 2017

1 Min Read
Credit: Seatrade Cruise News

In a lengthy interview with Le Monde aboard the newly delivered MSC Meraviglia, Aponte called STX France an excellent partner with an exceptional engineering team that helps MSC produce ships that are special and innovative.

All 13 of MSC Cruises' ships have been built in Saint-Nazaire, where the orderbook includes MSC Bellissima in 2019, a pair of Meravigla-Plus newbuilds plus two World-class LNG ships, with additional options.

'We don’t want to be majority shareholders but to take part in the shareholding balance,' Aponte told Le Monde. 'If the yards were to fall into the hands of Fincantieri only, that would create a problematic dominant position.'

The Italian owner, he suggested, could transfer technologies and possibly revise the commercial strategy in a way that constrains cruise industry development.

And, Aponte added: 'If we are shareholders, as well as Royal Caribbean, the other main client of the yards, we’ll do everything to prevent Fincantieri from pillaging Saint-Nazaire, transferring its technology abroad or favoring its own yards to the detriment of the French site.'

The global cruise orderbook is currently at a record high. However, the MSC chief sees a risk, if the cruise market and orders should slow, that Fincantieri may first fill its Italian yards and leave the rest to Saint-Nazaire, 'if there is a rest.

'Saint-Nazaire must remain independent,' he said, 'to prevent the enormous conflict of interest which looms.'

Le Monde mentioned a possible 10% stake shared by MSC and Royal Caribbean.

Neither Royal Caribbean nor Fincantieri had anything to say about the STX sale on Thursday. Royal Caribbean cfo Jason Liberty called STX France 'a very important partner for years' and praised the highly skilled workforce, adding: 'We don't comment on rumors.'

About the Author

Michèle Valandina

French correspondent

A graduate from Lyon University, where she specialised in foreign languages and American literature, Michèle worked as an interpreter/translator (English, German and Italian) for major international events before entering the diplomatic world for a few years. As a Paris-based freelance travel and lifestyle writer, she has been a contributor to a host of publications and has long specialised in two sectors: cruising and wellness. Her features have appeared in, among others, Le Monde, Le Figaro, Le Figaro Magazine, Les Echos Week-end and periodicals dedicated to the MICE sector. She has also featured on radio and TV travel programmes and, since 1992, has been the author of the only French cruise guide, Croisières Passion.

 

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