Talgo confirms Sidenor’s interest in entering the company. The train manufacturer has informed the CNMV this Wednesday of the receipt of a letter of expression of interest, in which the steel company says it is considering the “total or partial acquisition” of the company’s share capital. Therefore, it is understood that the firm owned by José Antonio Jainaga does not rule out launching a takeover bid for 100% of Talgo.
This is an interest that is sponsored by the Basque government, which yesterday acknowledged conversations with Jainaga to try to save the future of the railway builder, after the takeover bid denied by the Government to the Hungarian Magyar Vagon. The company has its largest train factory in the municipality of Rivabellosa (Álava), where it employs more than a third of its 2,500 direct and indirect workers in Spain. At the moment it is not ruled out that the Executive of Imanol Pradales will accompany Sidenor in the operation.
Initially, it was suggested that the owner of the steel company could acquire 29.9% of Talgo’s shares through Mirai, his own investment vehicle. But finally it seems that it could even aspire to purchase Talgo through Sidenor itself, based in the town of Basauri (Vizcaya). After learning of Jainaga’s interest in Talgo, the market yesterday pushed the company’s stock up 4.52% to 3.47 euros per share. An impulse that has also been reproduced today with an increase in the value of the share of 4.9% to 3.64 euros. Although these are still figures very far from the 4.3 euros at which the stock was trading just before the Government decided to overthrow the Hungarian takeover bid for reasons of national security.
At the moment, Sidenor’s is the first official statement by an investor to become a shareholder in Talgo after the launch of the Hungarian offer in March. Until now, only the interest of the Czech company Skoda had been known – it is still interested in it and has the support of La Moncloa – but its proposal was never economic and it only proposed a business combination.
The content of the proposal remains to be known. If he launched a partial offer, Jainaga would have to do so for a maximum of 29.9% of the shares to avoid having to launch a takeover bid and, in that case, everything indicates that these titles would correspond to Trilantic’s position in the company. The British fund shares the Pegaso company with Torreal and the Oriol family – the latter historical owners of Talgo –, with which they control 40% of the company. What does seem to be ruled out is the launch of a takeover bid worth 620 million like the Hungarian one. which valued Talgo’s securities at five euros per unit.
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