Davie Yards Enters Into an Exclusivity Agreement With Fincantieri and DRS Technologies Canada

LÉVIS, QUÉBEC--(Marketwire - March 31, 2011) - Davie Yards ("Davie" or the "Corporation") announced today that it has entered into an exclusivity agreement with Fincantieri – Cantieri Navali Italiani ("Fincantieri") and DRS Technologies Canada ("DRS"), a Finmeccanica company, to negotiate the potential acquisition of the shipyard by an entity that will be majority-owned by Fincantieri. In order to continue this process, Davie has obtained an order from the Québec Superior Court (the "Court") extending the stay of proceedings ordered by the Court to May 19, 2011, the whole pursuant to the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act ("CCAA").
"In Fincantieri and DRS, a Finmeccanica company, Davie has found the industrial investors it was looking for, combining both the financial strength and the technical expertise", said the President and CEO of Davie, Mr. Gustav Johan Nydal. He continued, "This is an important step in the right direction but there is still a lot of work to do in order to complete the transaction within a very short timeframe so the shipyard will be able to submit a valid bid for the federal contracts."
Fincantieri and DRS will immediately join Davie's efforts to respond to the request for proposal to become one of the two selected shipyards under the National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy ("NSPS").
The Company has obtained confirmation that, subject to the approval of the required authorities, the Quebec Government will provide additional interim financing to meet the cash requirements for the duration of the extension.
Source: marketwire