STX France officially becomes "Chantiers de l'Atlantique"

The STX France shipyards have taken over their historic name "Chantiers de l'Atlantique" lost in 2006 when the company was bought by the Norwegian group Aker Yards, the company said Wednesday in a statement. This return to the former historical name of the shipyards was promised by the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire in 2017. The general badembly of the company voted in favor of this change of name Tuesday evening.

Notebook full orders The name "Chantiers de l'Atlantique" was born in 1955 after the merger of Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire and Chantiers de Penhoët. The name was lost in 2006 when Alstom sold the Norwegian shipyard Aker Yards. Chantiers de l'Atlantique are now held temporarily "84.3% by the French State, 11.7% by Naval Group, 1.6% by local companies (COFIPME) and in the coming weeks by employees in height of 2.4% ", adds the company. It recalls that "in accordance with the Franco-Italian agreement of September 2017, the Italian group Fincantieri will enter the capital as soon as the necessary authorizations have been obtained".

The order book of the shipyard, which makes work more 8,000 people including 2,900 employees, is full for several years with eleven ships to build, six for the Italian ship owner MSC and five for the American owner RCCL. The company has completed more than 1,000 hires on permanent contracts since 2013.

Waiting for the green light from the competition authority. Put on sale in 2016 by its majority shareholder South Korean STX Offshore & Shipbuilding, the shipyard is still not in the hands of its Italian competitor Fincantieri. Despite an agreement signed between France and Italy in September for the purchase of 50% stake in STX France, both parties are still waiting for the authorization of the European competition authorities, "for late 2018 early 2019" according to Bruno Le Mayor

Tensions between France and the new Italian government also remain a source of uncertainty. "The only uncertainty, I admit, is the position of the Italian government, but I believe that an agreement reached by a state goes beyond the political changes, the governments change, but the commitments of the states remain. of the Italian state remains ", badured Bruno Le Maire in June during a visit to Saint-Nazaire.