A South Korean court handling the bankruptcy of STX Offshore and Shipbuilding Co said Tuesday that Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri has been designated the preferred bidder for STX's profitable French unit. "The court reached the decision this afternoon," Judge Choi Ung-Young, who acts as a spokesman for the Seoul Central District Insolvency Court, told AFP.

He said Fincantieri would now conduct field research on the shipyard and agree a price with the South Korean firm before signing a deal for its 66.6 percent stake. Fincantieri, Netherlands-based Damen Shipyards Group and French state-controlled naval shipbuilder DCNS had initially expressed interest in acquiring STX France, which specialises in building cruise ships. But the Italian shipbuilding giant was the sole bidder to submit a binding proposal last month.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2017