Siemens AG Rules Out Further Concessions for Alstom Merger -Sources
January 17 2019 - 10:29AM
Dow Jones News
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)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.