Brussels, 04/04/2001 (Agence Europe) - After an in-depth investigation, the European Commission decided to authorise the acquisition of ADtranz, the railway division of the German-American group DaimlerChrysler, by the Canadian Bombardier, subject to certain guarantees. An operation that will make Bombardier the largest integrated producer of railway material in the world, ahead of Alstom (France) and Siemens (Germany). As notified, the operation would have lead to the creation of a dominant position in the market for regional trains and tramways in Germany, reason for which the parties had to agree to certain concessions. The new company formed from the merger will employ 37,000 people, have an annual turnover of more than CAD 8 billion and an order book of CAD 22 billion.
The ADtranz company was created in 1995 by the merger of the railway activities of ABB and Daimler-Benz (today DaimlerChrysler), which acquired the exclusive control in 1999. It is specialised in rolling stock and signalling equipment. The Bombardier company is active in the aeronautic, railway and recreational products industries.
In order to obtain a green light from the Community, the parties proposed several undertakings that would have as effect to enable the licensed entry of Stadler Rail, a Swiss company active in Germany, as an independent supplier of this kind of vehicles. It will thus acquire, to a large extent, the position presently occupied by ADtranz on the market. The undertakings will also enable two independent suppliers of electric propulsion systems (Kiepe and Elin) to remain active in the two markets, which will allow for the forming, in the future, of consortiums with Stadler and with other distinct suppliers of mechanical elements. In this new environment, the Commission felt that the merger would not lead the creation of a dominant position in the markets that posed a problem and it authorised the merger.