Polish state-owned fund PFR drops plan to bid for Talgo, Expansion reports
13/02/2025 07:59
MADRID, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Polish state-owned fund PFR
has dropped its plan to bid for Spanish train manufacturer Talgo
TLGO.MC after the Spanish government opposed the move,
Expansion newspaper reported on Thursday, citing unnamed market
sources.
A spokesperson for Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo declined
to comment on whether the government opposed the Polish bid.
Cuerpo told Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita the government
wanted future investors in Talgo to commit to keeping employment
and production in Spain.
The Polish fund did not immediately respond to a request for
comment.
PFR, which owns Polish train maker Pesa, said on Monday that
it intended to bid for up to 100% of Talgo, sending the
company's shares up 10% in three days to 4.31 euros ($4.50).
The PFR bid landed four days after a Basque consortium
comprising shareholders of steelmaker Sidenor, the regional
government and local bank Kutxabank had offered up to 4.80 euros
per share for a 29.8% stake in Talgo.
The Polish fund was ready to pay 5 euros per Talgo share,
Polish newspaper Dziennik Gazeta Prawna reported on Wednesday,
matching the price offered last year by Hungarian consortium
Ganz-Mavag.
The Spanish government in August blocked the Ganz-Mavag bid,
saying it entailed risks to national security, public order and
public health. 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 = 0.9585 euros)
(Reporting by Inti Landauro and Alan Charlish
Editing by David Goodman
)
((Inti.Landauro@thomsonreuters.com;))