The EU Antitrust ready to reject the super wedding between Alstom and Siemens. On the marriage of the year, from which a European giant of railway transport should be born, strongly desired by the governments of France and Germany, the continental authority has in fact expressed more than one reservation.
Alstom and Siemens have therefore decided to run for cover and, in a note released in the morning, announced the decision to "further modify the remedies" offered to the EU Commission “to address fears” of adverse effects on competition. According to rumors, the countermeasures introduced would however have been judged insufficient by the EU commissioner for competition, Margrethe Vestager, who since last July has placed the merger between the two companies in her spotlight. A merger which, according to her, could "deprive European railway operators of a choice of supplies and innovative products and lead to higher prices, which would end up harming millions of Europeans who use rail transport every day".
The merger, if approved, will create a railway giant with operations in 60 countries and an annual turnover of 15,6 billion euros.
According to what was communicated by the two companies, the changes launched represent a "package" which "preserves the industrial and economic value of the operation - the order of magnitude of the sales in question previously communicated (i.e. about four per cent of the sales of the combined entity) remaining unchanged”, is explained in a note. "However, there is still no certainty that the content of this package will be sufficient to alleviate the Commission's concerns."
In a statement, Alstom said the remedies offered “take account of the Commission's concerns, while maintaining the economic and industrial fundamentals of the agreement. The parties believe that this proposed remedy is appropriate and adequate. Nonetheless – points out the French company – there is no certainty that this proposal will be sufficient to satisfy the concerns of the European Commission”.
French government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux said on Wednesday that if the Commission rejected the merger, it would be "an economic mistake and a political mistake and ... it would send a bad signal to European citizens"
We recall that, already last December, the two giants had proposed to sell some signaling and rolling stock businesses, however receiving the stoppage from the EU Antitrust. To officially find out if the new package will be able to obtain the green light from the authority, we will have to wait until the next one February 18, the day on which the response is expected of the Commission.
