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The Hungarian Ganz-MaVag group had previously made a bid for the Spanish train manufacturer Talgo, but the socialist government in Madrid, citing the country’s secret services, eventually blocked the takeover by the Hungary investor, reported Világgazdaság.
Shares of the Spanish train manufacturer Talgo rose by 5.7 percent to €4.34 on Wednesday, after the Polish daily Dziennik Gazeta Prawna reported that
the Polish Development Fund (PFR) may make an offer of at least €5 per share for 100% of the company.
The company’s share prices skyrocketed and are the highest since August 23. Despite having said earlier this week that it would make a takeover bid for the Spanish train maker Pegaso, the holding that controls 40% of the company, PFR, said it had not decided yet. This resulted in the shares taking a downward turn this Wednesday.
According to the Polish newspaper, PFR is seeking to boost cooperation between the Polish railway company Pesa, which it owns, and Talgo.
The Polish state investor sees Talgo as an important manufacturer of variable gauge trains for transport to Ukraine.
The case started after the Socialist government in Madrid, led by Pedro Sánchez, in August rejected the Ganz-MaVag group’s bid on what they called “national security grounds”. Then in November Spain’s central intelligence agency, the CNI, announced that it would not declassify the Talgo report, which had been questioned in professional circles. Some analyst have suspected political motifs behind the decision in view of the left-wing Spanish ruling elite’s hostile stance towards the conservative government of Viktor Orbán.
Since then, the search for a new buyer for Talgo has been ongoing, with the Spanish company Sidenor and the Indian company Jupiter Wagons being the most recent bidders. The situation evolved as the Spanish press also reported in January that Talgo was about to entrust Ganz-MaVag with part of the orders it had placed with various European railway companies.
Via Világgazdaság; Featured picture: Talgo Linkedin