Alstom confirmed in a statement on Monday that it had offered concessions, but said, “There is, however, still no certainty that the content of this package will be sufficient to alleviate the concerns of the (European) Commission.”
Reuters had previously reported that European regulators were likely to block the deal, announced in September 2017. [See “Report: European Union to block Siemens, Alstom merger,” Trains News Wire, Jan. 21, 2019], although the French and German governments support the merger. The most significant concession is a willingness to share Siemens’ high speed rail technology for 10 years instead of five within Europe, the news agency reported.
European Union Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager told Reuters on Sunday her staff were reviewing last-minute changes filed by the two companies on Friday, “way, way over the usual deadline … We’re looking at what was handed over to us this Friday. This is the last push, if at all possible.”
The merger would create the world’s second largest rail equipment supplier, trailing only China’s CRRC.
I’m not quite sure why the European Union doesn’t want China to have a competitor in the railroad equipment manufacturing workspace…unless the Chinese paid them off so they could end up being the world dominating manufacturer of all manner of railroad rolling stock.