Railpolitik

18 January 2019 By Liam Proud, Karen Kwok Follow @liamwardproud

Margrethe Vestager may well block the rail groups’ merger. That would rile German and French politicians yearning for a European champion to face down distant fears of Chinese dominance. But if the antitrust tsar pulls the plug, neither Siemens nor Alstom would suffer too much.

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Germany’s Siemens said on Jan. 17 it will not make further concessions to save a rail merger deal with France's Alstom even after European competition authorities demanded further amendments.

EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager is concerned the merger could stifle Europe's rail industry and has voiced doubts about China’s potential to be a competitor on European railways in the near future.

Siemens and Alstom agreed to merge their rail operations in 2017, a deal backed by both the French and German governments, which said it would help secure the competitiveness of the European rail industry.

Siemens shares were trading at 99 euros as of 0947 GMT on Jan. 18, up 1.7 percent in the year to date. Alstom shares were trading at 34 euros, down 2.3 percent in the year to date.

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