By
Rebecca Gibson |
German shipbuilder Meyer Werft and the Finnish government have signed a purchase agreement to acquire the STX Finland shipyard in Turku.
Following weeks of negotiations with current owner STX Europe, Meyer Werft is set to acquire a 70% leadership stake of the new company, which will be renamed Meyer Turku Shipyard.
“This acquisition will strengthen the yards in Papenburg, Turku and Rostock – by joining forces with Turku we can offer more flexibility to our customers,” said Jan Meyer, managing partner of Meyer Werft. “In addition both shipyards respect each other for their high level of professionalism and thus can learn a lot from each other in order to improve their working processes, or to join forces on research and development.
Meyer added: “We are confident that we can create a good opportunity for the Finnish maritime cluster to thrive and also hope to interest many young people to join us for building the future high-tech ships.”
The acquisition is subject to clearance by the antitrust authorities and banks.