ROME, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Norwegian Line Holdings (NCL)

and Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri said on

Wednesday they had agreed a deal for four new cruise liners,

which a source close to the matter said was worth around 9

billion euros ($9.34 billion).

Fincantieri has already built two ships for NCL and a third,

called the Norwegian Aqua, will be delivered in the coming

months. The four new vessels are the single largest order ever

signed by the Italian shipbuilder, the source said.

"The value of this agreement, subject to financing and other

typical terms and conditions, is considered very important,"

Fincantieri said in a statement on the order, adding that an

original letter of intent was signed in April 2024.

The ships will be built at Fincantieri's Monfalcone shipyard

in north-eastern Italy and the first will be delivered in 2030,

it said. The others will be finished in 2032, 2034 and 2036.

Each will be around 226,000 tonnes and will be able to

accommodate more than 8,300 people, including crew, said

Fincantieri, which in November raised its full-year revenue

forecast to above 8 billion euros.

While steadily pursuing its core shipbuilding business, the

group is also pushing into the defence and underwater segments.

In May it bought Leonardo's UAS in a deal giving

the submarine business an enterprise value of 415 million euros.

CEO Pierroberto Folgiero also said that Fincantieri was open

to all types of collaboration with the warship division of

conglomerate Thyssenkrupp.

Fincantieri shares have been the fourth-best performer on

the Milan bourse over the past 12 months, rising 106%. The stock

rose as much as 5.6% on the Milan bourse in early trade, and was

up by 2.83% at 0821 GMT.

($1 = 0.9632 euros)

(Additional reporting by Andrea Mandala; Editing by Gianluca

Semeraro and Alexander Smith)