The Italian securities and exchange commission (CONSOB) has approved the IPO prospectus of shipbuilder Fincantieri.

The state-owned shipyard group will be listed on the Milan stock market with simultaneous offerings to the Italian public and institutional investors totalling 703m shares. Of those shares, 600m are part of a capital increase, with the remainder sold by state lender CDP.

The privatisation will see the market snap up between 38% and 45% of Fincantieri's share capital, depending on the uptake of an over-allotment option.

Indicative prices of EUR0.78 per share on the low end and a binding EUR1 maximum per share values the company at between EUR969m and EUR1.2bn.

Primarily a builder of cruise and naval vessels, Fincantieri purchased offshore specialist STX OSV last year, subsequently rebranding it as Vard.