Neorion Could Buy Thyssen’s Greek Unit

Neorion Shipyards is in talks with Germany’s ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems to acquire its Greek unit, Hellenic Shipyards.

The Greek shipping line has initiated negotiations for the shipyard’s share buyout, the company said in an Athens bourse filing.

ThyssenKrupp was in talks with Neorion authorities about its unit, after the cancellation of a Greek submarine contract.

The German company said last month that it had terminated a contract to build four submarines for the Greek navy and would seek arbitration as the government’s arrears exceeded €520m ($776.5m).

The orders to build seven submarines ran into trouble after Greece refused to take delivery of the vessels, citing technical shortcomings and design flaws.