By Olaf Ridder 
 

--Siemens won't make any further concessions in pursuit of a rail merger with Alstom

--More divestments would make a deal unworkable, a source said

--Siemens has already offered to share high-speed train technology

 

Siemens AG (SIE.XE) won't make any further concessions to the European Commission in its pursuit of a merger of its rail division and Alstom SA (ALO.FR), two people familiar with the matter said Thursday.

"We've gone as far as we can," said one of the people, who is close to the deal. Further concessions would make the project commercially nonviable, he said.

If Brussels rejects the merger, Siemens would consider all available options for the future of its mobility division, including a public listing, the people said.

Siemens and Alstom submitted their final proposals to the commission last week, according to one of the people, and are now waiting for the decision, which is scheduled for Feb. 18.

EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager has expressed misgivings about the project, while regulators from the U.K., the Netherlands, Belgium and Spain are concerned the deal would eliminate competition in high-speed trains and signaling. Germany's Federal Cartel Office has also objected to the deal.

To allay these concerns, Siemens has offered to share the technology behind its Velaro Novo train platform with competitors, one of the people said.

Brussels wants Siemens to forego any new high-speed train contracts based on this platform for 10 years, but Siemens is only prepared to do so for a maximum of five years, he said.

However, the company is more confident that it can satisfy antitrust demands in the area of signaling technology, as the merged company would generate less business in this area than Siemens had on its own, the person said.

 

Write to Olaf Ridder at olaf.ridder@wsj.com

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 17, 2019 10:14 ET (15:14 GMT)

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