Principle of agreement for the purchase of Trilantic’s part in Talgo by Sidenor. The consortium in which Jainaga, Basque Government, BBK and vital participate will be made with 29.7% of the trains manufacturer’s actions once the Council gathered today to treat the offers presented votes in favor definitely.
The soap opera of the sale of Talgo seems to conclude, after almost a year and a half, since in mid -November 2023 Talgo communicated to the markets the existence of an unidentified Hungarian group willing to buy from the Spanish manufacturer to five euros per share. A few months later, in March 2024, that company was presented as Ganz-Mavag, a Hungarian consortium in which the Ferrovary Group Magyar Vagon and the Viktor Orban government were present through the Corvinus Fund. In that month he launched his OPA for 100% of Talgo at the agreed price, so he was willing to disburse 620 million euros.
The offer convinced the market and the shareholders of Talgo, but it ran into the absolute opposition of the government and the antiphest shield, in the hands of the Board of Foreign Investments (Ministry of Economy), which had the offer almost six months in quartet until that at the end of August last year it was vetoed in the Council of Ministers that alleged security reasons and public order for alleged ties of Ganz-Maavag with the Russian government of Vladimir Putin.
La Moncloa, who at all times tried to find an alternative buyer to the Hungarian group, and tried to all the competition of Talgo (Alstom, Stadler, CAF), to institutional investors such as Critiaia Caixa, or companies of sectors with a certain “affinity” , as a scribe or the Czech Skoda, the responsibility of finding a solution for the company, with its main shareholder, Trilantic, tightening to sell their participation in the company and leave.
The answer, finally, was found by the Executive in the Basque company Sidenor that, in October, he informed the CNMV that he had started conversations with the British fund to buy his participation and that he even opened to launch an OPA for 100% of the builder of trains.
In November, José Antonio Jainaga’s steel proposed to the British Fund represented in Spain by Javier Bañón to take his participation at a price of 4 euros per share, but the offer was considered by Trilantic too low, 20% below what what They offered the Hungarians months ago.
During those weeks the rumors also began that the Polaca weighs and India Jupiter Wagons were willing to launch an OPA. Two options that were well considered by the Executive, since they had industrial land to give immediate solution to the problems of Talgo.
But Sidenor’s last offensive and the participation in the same of the Basque Government have ended up bowing the balance in favor of the Basque road, which will be done with 29.9% of Talgo at a price of 4.15 euros per share, although the figure can be raised to 4.8 euros if certain results are given in Talgo in exercises 2027 and 2028. In any case it will be a price below the expectation of five euros per share that hoped to enter Trilantic before leaving and that He was willing to offer PFR before the Moncloa intervened ‘de facto’ and told Poland that the operation was destined to pass through the antiopas shield. The price that the owner of Pesa had paid would have been well below the one Talgo had ten years ago when he went into the booth in 2015 with the price of the action at 9.25 euros.
However, there are still other edges to be resolved in the future of the manufacturer. In the background there is also the departure of the remaining 10% of the Pegaso society, which Trilantic shared with Torreal (Familia Abelló) and with the Oriol family, the founder of Talgo, who presides over the company through the figure of Carlos de Palacio and Oriol . The latter commanded the conversations with PFR for the launch of the OPA, but the government’s interf not external and that was for 15 years CEO of Talgo, he presented his “irrevocable” resignation alleging “personal reasons.”
The participation of Pegasus could end in the hands of the SEPI, an option that the Government has dropped in recent months and, especially, the Minister of Transportation, Óscar Puente, who wants to cut short of what is the main provider of Renfe’s high speed business trains. The industrial future of Talgo remains to be resolved. Because the consortium that form Sidenor, Finkatuz, BBK and Vital Foundation has the disadvantage of not having soil for Talgo or experience in rail production. This is where Poland or Jupiter Wagons could appear again that if they have knowledge and space so that Talgo can attend without problems with the record of records of 4,000 million euros, in addition to aspiring to new contracts at a time of great Public investment worldwide in railway infrastructure.
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