South Korean Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) has confirmed its interest in buying a stake in a Saint Nazaire-headquartered shipbuilder STX France.
Reacting to recent speculations made in the French press, DSME said that it received the offer documents for the sale of the stake, but that no specifics had been agreed upon at the time.
DSME will most probably look to take over a stake in the cruise ship specialist currently held by Korea Development Bank (KDB), which is also a shareholder in DSME.
KDB became a shareholder in STX France through a series of debt-for-equity swaps after the shipbuilder’s parent company STX Group suffered financial difficulties starting in 2013.
STX Group’s offshore and shipbuilding arm went through restructuring during that period, which meant that all European shipyards were put up for sale. STX Finland was bought by Germany’s Meyer Werft in 2014.
Another major shareholder in STX France is the French government, which holds a 34% stake.