Sale of Bombardier Transport to Alstom: green light from the authorities

(Montreal) Bombardier and Alstom announced Tuesday that they had obtained all the regulatory approvals necessary to move forward with the sale of the rail division of the Quebec company to the French giant.

The Canadian Press

The transaction, now scheduled for January 29, will see Bombardier Transportation be sold to Alstom for US $ 8.4 billion.

Together, Alstom and Bombardier Transportation will form the second largest player in the rolling stock sector and are expected to generate revenues of around US $ 18 billion. This is still a far cry from the turnover of some 32 billion US dollars of the Chinese giant CRRC – the number one in the industry.

By detaching from its rolling stock activities, the Quebec company should obtain nearly US $ 4 billion. Bombardier will use the proceeds, along with the $ 275 million obtained from the sale of its aerospace factories in Belfast, Casablanca and Dallas to reduce its long-term debt by $ 9.3 billion.

For its part, the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, which owns nearly 35% of Bombardier Transport, will become Alstom’s largest shareholder with a stake of around 18% upon closing of the transaction.

The woolen socks of Quebecers will have two representatives on Alstom’s board of directors: its first vice-president Kim Thomassin as well as Serge Godin, the founder and executive president of the Quebec multinational specializing in information technologies and services. – CGI tips.

Alstom has committed, in the first year of the closing of the transaction, to establish its North American headquarters in Montreal, which will oversee 13,000 employees. It must also set up a research center and will improve production at the Bombardier Transport plant in La Pocatière, where the order book is almost empty, as well as at its Sorel-Tracy site.