Alstom has announced its proposed commitments to respond to potential European Commission concerns regarding its purchase of Bombardier Transportation.
The commitments are part of the process to satisfy the European Commission’s merger regulations.
The actions that Alstom has proposed include the divestment of the Alstom Coradia Polyvalent line and its production facilities at Reichshoffen, in France, as well as the divestment of the Bombardier TALENT 3 platform and its production facilities in Heningsdorf, Germany.
Alstom has also proposed the transfer of Bombardier Transportations contribution to the V300 ZEFIRO very high-speed train.
In signalling and train control, Alstom has proposed to provide access to interfaces and products on some of Bombardier Transportation’s signalling on-board units and train control management systems.
The European Commission is now reviewing these commitments and will make a decision whether to further investigate the procedure by July 16. Third parties are invited to submit observations.
In a statement, Bombardier confirmed its support of the commitments. Both companies confirmed that the acquisition process is on track to be completed in the first half of 2021.
The two companies confirmed that Alstom would acquire Bombardier Transportation in February, 2020, following weeks of rumours. The value of the exchange is between $9.4 and $10 billion.
In Australia, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has begun a review of the merger and has set a provisional date for the announcement of findings of August 20. The ACCC will apply the legal test of whether the merger is likely to have the effect of substantially lessening competition in a market.