The government considers Talgo strategic and will use an anti-takeover shield if a Hungarian offer is made.

“Obviously, the government always has the right to decide whether it is of strategic interest or not, and the railway industry is one of the strategic industries of the country,” Jereu defended during the opening ceremony of the Cupra Center in Madrid. “If permissions are given, strategic control will be maintained with full confidence,” added the head of the industry department.

The market took it for granted that the government would rely on the tool to analyze the transaction as it involved the acquisition of a Spanish listed company by a foreign group, which is subject to the anti-takeover shield. According to the procedure, if a takeover bid is eventually submitted, it must be approved first by the Ministry of Industry and then by the Council of Ministers.

So Moncloa will try to mark the ground. faced with the possibility of transferring the management of the company into foreign hands, which is a historical event for the Spanish industrial structure and, at the same time, equally important for rail mobility in Spain. In fact, most of the long-distance fleet used by Renfe is produced by Talgo, and a large part of the rolling stock renewal plan that the state-owned operator has in place also depends on it.

And Talgo has a trump card that sets it apart from the rest of the European manufacturers: a moving roller system that it shares only with CAF, also Spanish. This is technology that allows trains to automatically adapt to the dimensions of other types of tracks, allowing locomotives to travel across different European countries. An element that is also directly linked to Renfe’s activities on routes linking Spain and France.

Another competitive advantage is that it is the only manufacturer to use a system in which the two wheels on each axle, right and left, can rotate at different speeds. This reduces the feeling of movement for travelers and also avoids further deterioration of the infrastructure.

Bank filter

In any case, the executive will act as a second filter on the Talgo acquisition if the analysis currently being carried out by financial institutions that are creditors of the Hungarian train manufacturer bears fruit. According to the newspaper, the bank is studying the origin of Magyar Vagon’s funds, as well as its business and political connections, given the possibility that Magyar money have any connections with Russiaa country under European Union sanctions that maintains good diplomatic relations with Hungary.