Spain: The news was reported by Spanish media Cinco Días citing its sources. Jupiter Wagon, a major Indian freight car builder, has reportedly approached advisors to prepare a deal that would allow it to acquire part of the Spanish manufacturer.
At the same time, the Spanish Ministry of Transport has told the news agency EFE that it expects the €150 mln deal for 29.9% of Talgo shares to be completed by the end of January. The future owner will be another Spanish business, the steel company Sidenor. Investor companies Trilantic and Torreal, which together own 40% of Talgo, had rejected the deal.
According to Spanish media, the current owners of Talgo shares lack interest in Sidenor’s offer as it is only €4 per share, while the previous offer by Hungary’s Ganz-MaVag in a consortium with the state foundation Corvinus was higher at €5. Jupiter Wagons is expected to make a more advantageous offer than Sidenor.
The sale of Talgo shares began more than a year ago. The first proposal from Ganz-MaVag was for 100% of the shares, but the Spanish government blocked it. Škoda Group proposed a merger, but Talgo itself rejected the deal.
The Polish state-owned fund PFR, which owns another rolling stock manufacturer, Pesa, is also a contender for the asset. Like Poland, India may also be interested in Talgo’s expertise in the production of high-speed trains (the new Talgo Avril entered service last year) and the relevant components. Last year, the southern country ordered the development of national high-speed trains with a design speed of 250 km/h, while building the first high-speed line between Mumbai and Ahmedabad.
Poland, at the same time, is considering buying between 100 and 200 trains with a speed of 250 km/h for its ambitious project Central Transport Hub (Centralny Port Komunikacyjny). While the local car builders do not produce the necessary rolling stock, Pesa and Talgo announced last year that they would cooperate in the construction of high-speed trains.