South Korean shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) is planning to acquire cruiseship builder STX France.

According to DSME, the company has received a request from STX France’s main stakeholder, Korea Development Bank (KDB) to consider options for buying the firm, Korea Times reported.

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KDB currently holds a 48.15% stake in STX France shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, which is a subsidiary of STX Offshore & Shipbuilding. The bank also owns 31.5% of the South Korean shipbuilder.

A DSME spokesman was quoted by Korea Times as saying: "We just began the study and, at this point, it is too early to say what we will do.

"We own both DSME and STX, so there is no reason whatsoever for us to force the former to acquire the latter."

"The review process may gain speed after our new CEO takes office later this month."

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The bank has been planning to offload its shares in cruise ship manufacturer to support its struggling parent firm.

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The remaining 33.34% shares are held by the French Government, which has been reportedly urging KDB to sell the shipyard.

A KDB spokesman was quoted as saying: "We own both DSME and STX, so there is no reason whatsoever for us to force the former to acquire the latter.

"What we want to do is to see whether DSME can generate synergy from acquiring STX France. If that is the case and DSME wants to buy it, we will let the shipbuilder do so. But if it doesn’t want to, we will not force it to."

KDB had attempted to sell the STX France in 2014 but failed to find a buyer.

Meanwhile, another subsidiary of STX Offshore & Shipbuilding, STX Finland, is set to be taken over by a German company.