Titanic builder Harland and Wolff to be bought by Spain's Navantia

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LONDON (AP) — The future of the Northern Ireland-based Harland and Wolff shipbuilder, which famously built the Titanic, appears to have been safeguarded on Thursday after the Spanish state-owned business Navantia stepped in to buy it.

The purchase of the company, which was placed into a type of bankruptcy in September for the second time in five years. is subject to regulatory approval.

If approved, the deal will secure 1,000 jobs at Harland and Wolff’s four shipyards, including at the iconic one in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Two of the others are in Scotland, while the fourth is in England.

The deal is important for the Royal Navy as Harland and Wolff is a subcontractor in part of a consortium that landed a major contract to build new ships. Navantia's U.K, division is the main contractor on that contract.

“This deal is a major vote of confidence in the U.K. from Navantia, which will not only secure the future of U.K. shipbuilding, but protect 1,000 jobs across the country and bring future investment into shipbuilding right across the U.K.," Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said.

He wouldn't be drawn on how much extra taxpayers’ cash would be spent on the contract for Royal Navy support vessels to get a deal to help Harland and Wolff over the line.

However, Reynolds said that the change to the deal was “relatively minor given the size of that contract, which is obviously a very important one for national security."