The 500 million euro capital increase announced by Fincantieri to finance the purchase of Uas (formerly Wass) from Leonardo is not to "shore up" the company, which is solid, but to support an M&A deal and a growth project.

This was said in an interview with Sole 24 ore published this morning by Fincantieri CEO Pierroberto Folgiero.

"We are working to carry out the capital increase before the summer ... we don't need props, the company is increasingly solid," the manager said.

Fincantieri had thudded on the stock market the day the deal was announced over analysts' concerns about the amount of the 500 million capital increase, which was higher than the value of the 415 million deal.

(Francesca Piscioneri, editing Sabina Suzzi)