Titanic shipbuilder Harland & Wolff will be bought by Spanish rival Navantia, as part of a commercial deal supported by the UK government that secures a key defense contract.

Navantia UK has agreed to acquire all four shipyards of British shipbuilder Harland & Wolff in the UK. The deal will secure the future of shipbuilding in Belfast, Scotland and Devon, safeguarding workers' existing terms and conditions.

LONDON (Reuters) -Spanish state-held shipbuilder Navantia will acquire the shipyards of Britain's Harland & Wolff, the Belfast-based company best known for building the Titanic, the British government said on Thursday.