The decision officially fell on Wednesday evening: following discussions, the French and Italian governments have chosen to abandon the takeover of Chantiers de l'Atlantique by the Botte Fincantieri group.
In a joint press release, the two ministries of the economy believe that the "
current economic context does not allow the planned merger to continue
" so far.
This end had been planned for a while, doubts having accumulated for several months.
Read also: Chantiers de l'Atlantique-Fincantieri: the reasons for the sinking of the great Franco-Italian alliance
Signed in early February 2018, the agreement to sell Chantiers de l'Atlantique shares “
will end on January 31, 2021,
” the press release said.
It will therefore not be extended, due to the “
unprecedented level of economic uncertainty
” surrounding the tourism sector.
The Covid-19 crisis is pointed out by the authorities to explain this abandonment.
In addition, the European Commission, which had expressed doubts about the project and had opened an "in-
depth investigation
" into this case at the end of October 2019, had never closed its research.
Paris and Rome therefore drew "
conclusions from the absence of a decision by the European Commission
", as well as from the particularly delicate context.
Under these conditions, the French State will remain “
the main shareholder of Chantiers de l'Atlantique and will support the company as long as the crisis lasts
”.
Nevertheless, the two governments say they want to continue their exchanges to "
deepen their cooperation in the maritime and shipbuilding sector
".
They also wish to “
support economic and industrial cooperation between their companies and their two countries
”.
