S.Korea STX says Fincantieri preferred bidder for unit stake

South Korea's STX Corp has chosen Italian government-owned ship builder Fincantieri SpA as the preferred bidder for its controlling stake in Singapore-listed STX OSV Holdings, a spokesman for STX said on Friday, Reuters reports.

STX has put up for sale its 50.75 percent stake, valued at about $800 million, in STX OSV, a builder of vessels used in offshore oil and gas exploration, and hired J.P. Morgan and Standard Chartered to find a buyer.