Spanish train maker Talgo's shares drop as government blocks takeover
Spain blocks takeover of Talgo by Hungarian consortium
Says deal would entail risks to national security
Talgo shares drop as much as 10%
Ganz-Mavag, Talgo minority shareholders weighing legal action
Adds Ganz-Mavag and minority shareholders announcing legal action in paragraphs 5 and 6
By Inti Landauro
MADRID, Aug 27 (Reuters) -Shares in Spain's Talgo TLGO.MC dropped as much as 10% on Tuesday after the government blocked a 619 million-euro ($691 million) takeover bid for the train maker from Hungarian consortium Ganz-Mavag due to national security concerns.
"The cabinet has agreed today to not authorise the foreign direct investment in Talgo by Ganz-Mavag Europe Private Limited," the economy ministry said in a statement. "The analysis has determined that authorising this operation would entail risks to national security and public order."
Stock market regulator CNMV halted trading in Talgo shares in the early afternoon after the decision was first reported by local media. The shares fell as much as 10% when trading resumed following the ministry's statement, and were down 8.3% in mid-afternoon trading.
A Talgo spokesperson said the company would wait for information from Ganz-Mavag on the next steps, adding that Talgo "will make its own decisions".
A spokesperson for Ganz-Mavag in Spain said the consortium would "take legal action, both in Spain and in Europe" against the Spanish government's decision.
The Spanish Association of Minority Shareholders of Listed Companies said it would challenge Spain's regulation allowing the suspension of foreign investments in domestic courts and was weighing bringing the case before the European Union.
Investment fund Trilantic - which owns almost half of Talgo's shares - did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Ganz-Mavag, which includes Hungary's state fund Corvinus, launched a public tender offer in March for all the shares in the manufacturer of Spain's signature AVE high-speed trains.
Spanish officials have repeatedly described Talgo as a strategic company, given its access to sensitive information on the country's railway network and, by extension, national security.
Transport Minister Oscar Puente had said the government would do "everything possible" to prevent the takeover.
In their reports, local media linked the government's veto to concerns over Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's close links to Russia.
After Ganz-Mavag launched its bid, reports emerged of other potential buyers for Talgo, including Switzerland-based Stadler Rail SRAIL.S, privately-owned Czech rival Skoda and Spanish investment fund Criteria.
But only Skoda, which is unrelated to the carmaker owned by Germany's Volkswagen VOWG.DE, last month made an offer for a "business combination and industrial merger", though it eventually said it would not file a formal counter-bid.
($1 = 0.8956 euros)
Reporting by Inti Landauro, Jesús Aguado, Belén Carreño and Emma Pinedo in Madrid, Matteo Allievi in Gdansk and Boldizsar Gyori in Budapest; Writing by David Latona; Editing by Andrei Khalip and Mark Potter
Aloqador aktivlar
Eng oxirgi yangiliklar
Javobgarlikdan voz kechish: XM Group korxonalari har biri faqat ijro xizmatlarini koʻrsatadi va onlayn savdo platformamizdan foydalanish huquqini beradi, bu odamga veb-saytda yoki veb-sayt orqali mavjud boʻlgan kontentni koʻrish va/yoki undan foydalanishga ruxsat beradi hamda uni oʻzgartirishga moʻljallanmagan va uni oʻzgartirmaydi yoki kengaytirmaydi. Bunday kirish va foydalanish huquqi doimo quyidagilarga boʻysunadi: (i) Shartlar va qoidalar; (ii) Risklar haqida ogohlantirish; va (iii) Javobgarlikni toʻliq rad etish. Shuning uchun bunday kontent umumiy maʼlumot sifatida taqdim etiladi. Xususan, shuni esda tutingki, bizning onlayn savdo platformamiz mazmuni moliyaviy bozorlarda biror bitimni amalga oshirishga oid maslahat yoki taklif emas. Har qanday moliyaviy bozorda savdo qilish sizning kapitalingiz uchun jiddiy risk darajasini oʻz ichiga oladi.
Onlayn savdo platformamizda chop etilgan barcha materiallar faqat taʼlim/axborot maqsadlari uchun moʻljallangan va unda moliyaviy, investitsiya soligʻi yoki savdo maslahatlari va tavsiyalar; yoki bizning savdo narxlarimizning qaydlari; yoki har qanday moliyaviy vositalar bilan bitim tuzish maslahati yoki taklifi; yoki sizga kerak boʻlmagan moliyaviy reklama aksiyalari hisoblanmaydi
Har qanday uchinchi tomon kontenti, shuningdek XM tomonidan tayyorlangan kontent, masalan: fikrlar, yangiliklar, tadqiqotlar, tahlillar, narxlar va boshqa maʼlumotlar yoki bu veb-saytda joylashgan uchinchi tomon saytlariga havolalar umumiy bozor sharhi sifatida "boricha" taqdim etiladi va investitsiya maslahatini tashkil etmaydi. Har qanday kontent investitsiya tadqiqoti sifatida talqin qilinsa, siz bunday kontentni investitsiya tadqiqotlarining mustaqilligini ragʻbatlantirish uchun moʻljallangan qonun talablariga muvofiq moʻljallanmagan va tayyorlanmaganligini eʼtiborga olishingiz va qabul qilishingiz kerak, shuning uchun unga tegishli qonunlar va qoidalarga muvofiq marketing kommunikatsiyasi sifatida qaraladi. Mustaqil boʻlmagan investitsiya tadqiqoti va yuqoridagi maʼlumotlarga oid risk haqida ogohlantirishimizni oʻqib chiqqaningizga va tushunganingizga ishonch hosil qiling, unga bu yerdan kirish mumkin.
