The federal government and the state of Lower Saxony want to take over around 80 percent of the shares in the ailing Meyer Werft for 400 million euros. Lower Saxony’s Economics Minister Olaf Lies announced this in the state parliament in Hanover. In addition, the state wanted to provide guarantees together with the federal government to prevent the company from going bankrupt. According to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the guarantees should amount to around one billion euros each. Last week, the federal and state governments announced that they wanted to take a temporary stake in the shipyard. Lies now gave the specific figures. More than 20,000 jobs in Germany threatened The Minister of Economic Affairs justified the planned rescue by saying that the crisis at the shipyard directly and indirectly threatened more than 20,000 jobs in Germany, around half of them in Lower Saxony. “The state cannot be a spectator,” said the SPD politician. In addition, the maritime industry in Germany must be preserved. Lies emphasized that the state does not aim to remain a permanent majority shareholder in the shipyard. “We can very well imagine a successful future for the shipyard in private hands,” he said. This also includes a buyback option for the Meyer family. Meyer Werft must clarify financing by mid-September Meyer Werft, known for cruise ships, must raise almost 2.8 billion euros to finance new shipbuilding by the end of 2027. Agreements must be reached by September 15th. More on the subject The problem is not due to a lack of orders, it was said. However, some contracts for the ships were concluded before the corona pandemic and do not provide for any adjustment to the increased energy and raw material prices. In addition, in the industry, 80 percent of the construction price is usually only paid when the ship is delivered – so the shipyard has to finance the construction with interim loans.
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