Following the withdrawal of the takeover bid for 100% of Talgo by Hungary’s Ganz-Mavag, the Spanish rolling stock manufacturer has two other options for the sale of its capital.
On the one hand, the Polish government is trying to buy the company outright, while on the other, the Basque steelmaker Sidenor, with the help of SEPI and Finkatuz, is seeking to acquire the 40.03% stake held by the Pegaso Transportation fund.
These new alternatives come after the merger with the Czech company Skoda was also ruled out for lack of an economic proposal.
Poland’s interest in Talgo
According to ElEconomista and Business Insider Poland, Donald Tusk’s government is interested in acquiring the whole or part of Talgo. The same sources mention that the Prime Minister is negotiating the deal with his Spanish counterpart, Pedro Sánchez.
The purchase has the approval of the parties that make up the Polish government. Although it has been mentioned that there is a state-controlled company that would articulate the operation, its name has not been revealed.
However, the main candidate is the manufacturer Pesa. As well as offering Talgo the production capacity it needs to meet its orders, the two companies signed an agreement during InnoTrans to study the joint development of high-speed trains for the CPK project.
Sidenor, the Spanish alternative
In addition to the possibility of Poland taking over the Spanish manufacturer, there is also a national proposal promoted by the Basque businessman José Antonio Jainaga.
The process was formalised on Wednesday after an expression of interest in Talgo was submitted to the CNMV. According to ElEconomista, Jainaga would use his steelmaker Sidenor to acquire 29.9% of the manufacturer’s shares. By not reaching 30% of the capital, it would not be necessary to make a takeover bid for 100% of the company.
However, the shares up for sale are the 40.03% held by the Pegaso Transportation fund, in which Trilantic and the Abelló and Oriol families (the latter being the heirs of José Luis de Oriol y Urigüen, co-founder of the manufacturer) have stakes. Since there is a drag-along clause, if Trilantic wants to sell its stake, the others have to sell theirs too.
In order to reach the total capital for sale, Sidenor could count on the help of SEPI (Sociedad Estatal de Participaciones Industriales) and/or Finakutz, its Basque counterpart. Between them they would share the percentage needed to replace Pegaso Transportation in Talgo’s shareholding.
BBVA would finance a takeover bid for 100% of Talgo
In the eyes of the CNMV, this operation would be a concerted action to avoid a 100% takeover bid, which would be detrimental to the other shareholders. It is therefore likely that the Commission will force the takeover bid.
In this case, Okdiario reports that BBVA would finance Jainaga. According to the same sources, this move is aimed at softening the government’s stance on the Basque bank’s merger with Banco Sabadell.
The price per share is currently the main stumbling block in this operation. While Trilantic is asking for the 5 euros offered by the Hungarian bid, ElEconomista claims that Jainaga is offering 4 euros per share.
This amount is slightly higher than the share price, which opened this morning at 3.86 euros and reached a maximum of 3.90 euros.
Although this formula keeps Talgo Spanish and the Madrid and Rivabellosa plants busy, it does not solve the company’s main problem: it does not have the industrial capacity to meet the orders it already has, and it is not increasing it.