The Italian group Fincantieri sent the Romanian Government an operational management offer for Mangalia Shipyard.
The offer also includes the option to acquire a 49% stake in the shipyard, provided that the Italians are awarded the contract for the four corvettes for the Navy Forces, according to government sources quoted by Profit.ro.
Recently, the Government announced that it blocks the transaction in which the Dutch from Damen Shipyards would have bought the majority stake in Mangalia Shipyard (DMHI) from Daewoo. The state would become the sole owner.
Fincantieri is one of the largest shipbuilders in the world, with an annual turnover of over EUR 4 billion, and controls the Norwegian Vard group, the owner of the shipyards in Tulcea and Braila.
The Italians’ offer includes a long-term agreement in which Fincantieri, as the main partner of the state, would coordinate the operations in Mangalia Shipyard, which would be included this way in the shipyard network that Fincantieri operate along the Danube, as well as the Italians’ market.
The partnership proposed would entail the allocation of some specific workload quotas and certain services and resources made available by Fincantieri to Mangalia Shipyard for the operational management, given the possibility of a lease contract by Fincantieri for the shipyard facilities and personnel, according to the source mentioned.
The Italian group would also like the support from the Romanian Government for export credit facilities and contracts for ship repair and construction, and especially the assignment for the construction of the four multifunctional corvettes for the Romanian Navy Forces.
As a result of meeting these conditions, Fincantieri could progressively buy shares in the yard up to a 49% stake.
Mangalia Shipyard is 51% owned by South Korean Daewoo Group since 1997 and the remaining 49% is in the Romanian Government’s ownership.
At the end of last year, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) sold Mangalia Shipyard for about USD 26 million to Damen Shipyards, the largest shipbuilder in the Netherlands that also owns Galati Shipyard and the transaction has been quickly approved by the Competition Council.
The South Korean group had started discussions on selling Mangalia Shipyard in 2016 as part of the efforts to restructure the international operations.
