French manufacturer Alstom is going to file an offer to get its hands on its Canadian competitor and historic player in the industry, Bombardier Transportation, the rail division of the Quebec multinational, revealed this Wednesday BFM Business.
The board of directors of Alstom met this Wednesday evening to examine a possible acquisition of Bombardier Transport, also said the Reuters news agency.
The manufacturer of the TGV has been talking for several months with the Canadian firm. According to BFM Business, Alstom made a first offer at $ 7 billion. But the French group would await the publication by Bombardier on Thursday of the fourth quarter results, in order to "refine" its offer for this possible major takeover.
What will be Bombardier's final choice? The Quebec group has sold its two main branches, business aviation and rail transportation, to service its debt of $ 9 billion. The province of Quebec undoubtedly prefers a sale of the transport branch, the majority of whose jobs are located in Europe. Bombardier is also considered to be a “European” player in the rail sector, particularly in the context of Chinese and Russian competition.
Good news for the Quebec government
According to several other sources, Bombardier is in exclusive negotiations with Alstom, while the main competitors Siemens and Hitachi have thrown in the towel.
On the Quebec side, at the National Assembly, the Minister of the Economy, Pierre Fitzgibbon, who said he was aware of the details of the upcoming transaction, hinted that it will be "positive", reports the Journal de Montréal.
“It pays me” newsletter
The newsletter that improves your purchasing powerI'm registering
Your email address is collected by Le Parisien to allow you to receive our news and commercial offers. Find out more
The Prime Minister of Quebec, François Legault, confirmed that the objective that his government had set for itself, that of protecting the thousands of jobs at stake, will be achieved. "I can't tell you any more, we are having discussions with Bombardier, there are different scenarios that are being examined. We hope in the coming days to let you know about the plan, ”said the head of the government of Quebec.