Alstom, Siemens Creating Rail Champion

The maker of France’s iconic TGV trains Alstom announced a “merger of equals” with German industrial leader Siemens in a politically tricky deal to create a new European rail champion, AFP reported. The group headquarters will be in the Paris area and 50% of the shares in the new entity owned by Siemens, an Alstom statement said. “We are creating a new European champion in the rail industry for the long term. This will give our customers around the world a more innovative and more competitive portfolio,” said Joe Kaeser, president and CEO of Siemens AG. The Alstom-Siemens merger has been mooted for years and completes the transformation of the French group which sold off its energy business to American rival General Electric in 2015 for €9.5 billion ($11.3 billion). The French state has shed its stake in the new entity, which has an order backlog of €61.2 billion and a combined revenue of €15.3 billion, according to information from the last annual financial statements of both groups.