{"id":56311,"date":"2018-02-01T22:43:48","date_gmt":"2018-02-01T22:43:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2018\/02\/01\/company-chiefs-head-to-paris-for-franco-italian-naval-merger-talks\/"},"modified":"2026-08-20T14:07:32","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T14:07:32","slug":"company-chiefs-head-to-paris-for-franco-italian-naval-merger-talks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/industry\/2018\/02\/01\/company-chiefs-head-to-paris-for-franco-italian-naval-merger-talks\/","title":{"rendered":"Company chiefs head to Paris for Franco-Italian naval merger talks"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

ROME \u2014 The heads of four companies involved in France and Italy\u2019s bid to build a European \u201cnaval champion\u201d will meet in Paris on Friday after government ministers gave the project a glowing progress report on Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The CEOs of shipyards Fincantieri and Naval Group, which are edging toward a merger, will meet with the heads of French and Italian systems companies Thales and Leonardo, said Fincantieri head Giuseppe Bono.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hitherto, Fincantieri and Naval Group have manned a working group set up in September to plan the eventual integration between the two yards, which is designed to consolidate Europe\u2019s fractured naval industry in the face of growing global competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

French firm Thales, which provides systems to French naval vessels, already has an effective seat at the table in talks because it owns a 35 percent share in Naval Group.<\/p>\n\n\n\t