Alstom formalized on Monday evening the takeover of the Canadian Bombardier Transportation, for an invoice between 5.8 and 6.2 billion euros, thus doubling in size. The European Commission has yet to validate this project, but Henri Poupart-Lafarge, the CEO of Alstom, invited to Europe 1 on Tuesday, says he is confident. According to him, the company "needs to invest to make our trains even greener", and "this acquisition will give us this capacity for innovation and investment".
A takeover to innovate and "make the trains greener"
"We have a mobility transition, we want clean, collective transport, and therefore the train is on the rise", assures the CEO. "A lot of innovations are needed to respond to the climate challenge. So yes, we need to invest to make our trains even greener. Such a takeover will give us this capacity for innovation and investment."
The merger between the two rail manufacturers has yet to be validated by the European Commission, which had re-scheduled the previous project between Alstom and Siemens in 2019. But for all that, Henri Poupart-Lafarge says he is confident. According to him, it was the question of signage that then posed the problem. On the other hand, he believes that there are enough players in rolling stock in Europe not to create a monopoly situation.
"No worries about employment"
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He also states that there is "no concern to have on employment, on the contrary. [...] I undertake that this operation will not pose any threat at all on the job in France. "
The challenge of the merger is above all to position itself on the world market, in particular vis-à-vis the Chinese giant CRRC. "The main idea is to create a dynamic player capable of responding to the challenges of transition and mobility, of innovation", specifies the CEO of Alstom. "In doing so, it is an actor that becomes very competitive and will be able to respond to the competition of other actors".