Investment commission clears sale of 25% plus one share in TMH to Alstom
MOSCOW. March 25 (Interfax) - The Russian government's foreign investment commission has approved the sale of 25% plus one share in rolling stock manufacturer TransMashHolding (TMH) to France's Alstom, Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) chief Igor Artemiyev told reporters.
It was earlier reported that concerns on the part of Russia's security services were the reason for an additional review of the transaction. Both companies hoped to close the deal by the end of 2010.
FAS Deputy Chief Andrei Tsyganov told Interfax earlier that the commission had asked for issues to do with guaranteeing that TMH keeps defense plants supplied to be resolved. Tsyganov said on March 1 that all issues that might have stopped the investment commission from considering the deal - chiefly access to state secrets and the production of special-purpose rolling stock - had been resolved.
"The issue [also approved] was with the Defense Ministry, the Federal Guard Service, the FSB and all institutions involved with the secrecy of certain facilities and the preservation of a certain potential," TMH co-owner Andrei Bokarev has said.
He said these institutions have had concerns about the reorganization of production facilities where state defense orders are carried out or specialized items are manufactured. "As soon as they received guarantees from us, all these issues were removed," Bokarev said.
TMH is Russia's largest producer of rolling stock for railways and subways, with companies in St. Petersburg, Bryansk, Penza, and the Moscow, Rostov and Tver regions. Combined company sales in 2009 came to 71 billion rubles. Its core shareholders are Iskander Makhmudov and Andrei Bokarev, firms controlled by TransGroup AS and Russian Railways (RZD) .