France wants 'multiple shareholder' solution to STX France - Hollande

PARIS (Reuters) - France wants a "multiple shareholder" solution to STX France, the shipbuilding company being sold off, French President Francois Hollande said on Tuesday. "We are working with the aim that the state can remain a minority shareholder, we want a multiple shareholder solution," Hollande said, speaking at a news conference held with Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni. Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri has made a bid for STX France, but France - which owns 33 percent of the company - wants to ensure that the French state remains a key stakeholder in the firm. The head of French state-controlled military shipbuilder DCNS also said last week it was "very likely" that DCNS - in which Thales has a minority stake - would enter into the capital of STX France. [nP6N18302J] The sale of STX France, which specialises in building cruise ships at the Saint-Nazaire shipyard and is profitable, forms part of a broader sell-off of businesses following the demise of the South Korean STX shipbuilding group. (Reporting by Jean-Baptiste Vey and Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by John Irish)