Finnish State, German shipbuilder agree to purchase STX's Turku shipyard

The State of Finland and German shipbuilder Meyer Werft have decided to purchase STX's Turku shipyard, the Ministry of Employment and the Economy announced on Monday.
According to the Ministry, the Finnish Government and the German company have signed an agreement with shipyard's owner STX Europe AS on the purchase of the whole stake of the Turku shipyard.
As agreed, Meyer Werft is expected to own 70 percent of the dockyard, and the remaining 30 percent will belong to the Finnish state. The Ministry however has not disclosed the purchase price yet.
Both the buyers have committed to injecting a substantial amount of money to the new company, said the Ministry, laying a solid foundation for the future development of the shipyard.
Meyer Werft will be then responsible for the yard's operation and further development.
"I am very pleased that the prolonged process is now approaching an elegant solution. A greatly respected industrial partner with long traditions in the field now fully works to bring its expertise to further help develop the Turku shipyard," said Jan Vapaavuori, Minister of Economic Affairs of Finland.
In addition, the agreement also includes a transition of two shipbuilding orders from Meyer Werft to the Turku shipyard.
The transaction does not include the Helsinki shipyard, half owned by Russian interests. The deal will still need approval by German authorities. No review at the EU level will be needed.
The Turku shipyard belongs to STX Finland Oy, a Finnish shipbuilding company employing some 2,500 people. It is part of STX Europe, a group of international shipbuilding companies owned by the South Korean STX Corporation.
The shipyard has got into trouble over funding crisis in recent years. The Finnish government has been considering efforts for long time about funding the shipbuilding in Turku.
Vapaavuori said that Meyer Werft emerged as a possible buyer last November. But it was not until last April when the South Koreans started to be willing to sell, he added.
Earlier, the Finnish government had taken steps to ensure that the shipyard could continue through, for example, the purchase of the land area where the shipyard is located.