24/09/2012 (Agence Europe) - Mergers: Alstom Transport-Fonds stratégique d'investissement/Translohr. On Monday 24 September 2012, the European Commission cleared the joint acquisition for €35 million of rubber-tyred tram manufacturer Translohr (part of the French Lohr group) by Alstom Transport (a subsidiary of France's Alstom), which will own 51% of the joint venture, and an investment fund owned by French state bank Caisse de Dépôts (49%). The Commission's investigation showed that Alstom Transport's and Translohr's businesses only overlapped in France because Alstrom's light rail trams and Translohr's rubber-tyred trams are rarely in competition with each other. The joint venture will face competition from several credible companies, hence the go-head for the merger, notified on 17 August this year. (FG/transl.fl)