The announcement made on the sidelines of the EuroNaval fair was hailed by the French and Italian governments.

Naval Group and Fincantieri announced Tuesday evening in a statement their intention to create a joint venture controlled equally, as part of their merger launched in September 2017 at the 34th Franco-Italian summit.

This announcement was hailed by the French and Italian governments in a separate text published after a meeting in Paris between the Minister of Armies Florence Parly and her Italian counterpart Elisabetta Trenta, who see it as a way to "improve competitiveness of this alliance's offerings on the world market " .

No cross ownership

Paris and Rome had launched a little more than a year ago, during the 34th French-Italian summit, a project aimed at creating a European "naval champion" by bringing the two groups closer to the competition, especially China and Russia.

But this alliance will be made without cross ownership, contrary to what was envisaged at first. The project, compared to a "Renault-Nissan Naval Alliance" , provided for 5% to 10% cross-shareholdings between Fincantieri and Naval Group.

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"Improve competitiveness"

Paris and Rome indicate in their press release that they "support the key initiatives that Fincantieri and Naval Group intend to implement swiftly and, in particular, the establishment of a joint venture in 2019 ( joint venture, Ed.) equally . "

"These measures should improve the competitiveness of the alliance's offerings on the global market, and enable them to continue to meet the needs of the Italian and French navies with the most modern solutions , " they said.

But the two governments also stress that this alliance "should have no impact on the ability of each government to master the capabilities and strategic resources of each of these companies . "

Research and innovation

Fincantieri and Naval Group say "the first step is to define the terms and conditions of a 50/50 joint venture" , stating that the kick-off will take place "subject to the approval of administration of both companies " .

The two groups aim to "jointly prepare offers for binational programs and export markets" and to deploy a "more efficient" supply chain with cross-purchasing, better value-for-money or volume effects.

They also intend to "jointly carry out research and innovation projects in order to guarantee the operational superiority of their customers" and "encourage cross-fertilization between the two companies, with the sharing of centers and test facilities, as well as 'experts' .

A four-ship order for the French Navy

The two partners are already engaged in an industrial collaboration to provide the French Navy with four logistic support vessels based on the Italian ship design Vulcano.

This order was announced at the EuroNaval Paris Air Show by Florence Parly. It concerns the FLOTLOG program (for logistics fleet) of oil tankers for the French navy.

In addition, and starting in 2019, they will examine "the possibility of presenting a joint offer for the first studies of the mid-life refit of the French and Italian Horizon class frigates, with a combat management system," CMS) common " according to the release of the two companies.