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Spanish steel maker Sidenor reveals tender offer for Talgo shares

Spanish steel maker Sidenor sent out a letter stating it was considering a tender offer for part or all the shares of train maker Talgo, the latter said late on Wednesday in a filing to the stock exchange regulator.

Talgo did not say whether Sidenor divulged the stake it intends to buy or at what rate.

Independently owned Sidenor is headquartered in the Basque Nation and runs numerous steel mills in northern Spain.

Sidenor's move comes two months after Hungarian consortium Ganz-Mavag last month withdrew a previous tender offer for the Spanish train maker following the Spanish government's veto on the deal.

Ganz-Mavag had actually introduced a tender quote in March offering 619 million euros ($ 671.74 million), or 5 euros per share, for the maker of Spain's signature AVE high-speed trains.

The deal represented a 17% premium over Talgo's value at the time.

The Spanish federal government decided to block the transaction saying it entailed dangers to nationwide security, public order and public health.

Officials said Talgo was a tactical business provided its access to sensitive information on the country's train network and, by extension, national security.

(source: Reuters)