Poland's state fund PFR to make an offer for 100% of Spain's Talgo (updated)
10/02/2025 08:30
(Adds details about the offer in second paragraph, details in
lower paragraphs)
MADRID, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Poland's state-owned
investment fund PFR said on Monday it intends to make an offer
for all the shares of Spanish train maker Talgo TLGO.MC .
PFR said it intends to bid in the coming days for the 40%
stake in Talgo held by investment group Pegaso Transportation,
it said in a filing to Spain's stock market regulator CNMV. Such
a bid would entail the launch of a public acquisition offer for
100% of the shares of Talgo, it added.
Spanish regulation forces anyone buying more than 30% in
a listed company to offer the same conditions to all
shareholders.
Talgo shares opened 6.9% up following the news.
Talgo, which manufactures signature speed AVE high speed
trains, has lately raised interest from investors as governments
in Europe encourage rail transportation as a clean alternative
to airplanes and roads.
PFR's move comes four days after a Basque consortium
comprising shareholders of steelmaker Sidenor, together with the
regional government and local bank Kutxabank,
made an offer
for a 29.8% stake in Talgo.
The consortium, said it is offering to buy the stake
from Trilantic, which is part of Pegaso, at up to 4.80 euros
($4.95) per share if Talgo meets certain financial targets in
2027 and 2028.
The price offered by the consortium for the stake
implies a maximum valuation of almost 595 million euros for the
entire company.
PFR, which owns Polish train maker Pesa, did not specify
how much it would offer for Talgo.
After the Spanish government
in August blocked
a 5 euro per share offer made by Hungarian consortium
Ganz-Mavag for Talgo, Czech and Polish investors were discussed
as potential buyers.
The government opposed the Hungarian bid, saying it
entailed risks to national security, public order and public
health, though it did not elaborate, though local media linked
the government's veto to concerns over Hungarian Prime Minister
Viktor Orban's close ties to Russia.
($1 = 0.9697 euros)
(Reporting by Marta Serafinko, Graham Keeley and Inti Landauro
Editing by Bernadette Baum and Louise Heavens)
((Inti.Landauro@thomsonreuters.com;))