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EU: German Siemens and French Alstom to complete rail merger this year

 |  April 17, 2018

According to The National, Siemens, Europe’s largest industrial conglomerate, is set to complete the merger of its rail entity with Alstom by the close of the year. The post merger company looks to ramp up its presence in the sector in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

“We are now in the process of issuing a file in the commission in Europe and in many other countries,” the newly appointed chairman of Siemens Alstom told The National in an interview in Dubai. “The expectation is closing [will happen] by the end of the year. Until then, our mobility business is doing very well, we’re growing, we have a very good conversion rate also from growth into profitability so everything is in order here and we’re looking for approval from authorities [so] that we can go ahead.”

Siemens, Germany’s largest company, and French Alstom announced a merger of their rail operations in September to create a “European champion” with combined revenues of €15.3 billion (US$18.9 billion) and the former retaining 50% of shares of the new entity. The merger is expected to generate annual synergies of €470 million (US$581.4 million) as the firms consolidate against competition from China’s state-owned rail developer China Railway Construction Corporation, which has been snapping up contracts in key growth markets.

Full Content: The National

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