Chapter 927: Merger and Reorganization

Although Barron did not give a definite commitment to invest in the Mumbai-Delhi high-speed railway in the end, he only stated that he needed to invest in this high-speed rail project after completing the British High-speed Railway Line 2...

But because what he said was the truth and there was no excuse, Singer was very satisfied with the meeting between the two parties in the end.

What's more, the plan for the Mumbai-Delhi Industrial Corridor itself cannot be started in the short term.

Although during his previous visit to Japan, Japan was very active in undertaking the construction of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail line, and even stated that they could bear more than 70% of the total investment in this high-speed rail line, but with the same After Barron's conversation, Singer believed that there was another option for this plan...

And as another news came next, this change in Singer's attitude was also supported.

On July 26, Bombardier announced that their board of directors had approved a cash acquisition plan proposed by a syndicate of companies such as Alstom and Cavendish Trust.

Under this plan, Bombardier will be sold for $22 billion.

Among them, Bombardier's railway department will merge with Alstom's railway department. The Alstom-Bombardier Heavy Industries Group formed by the merger will become the world's largest rail group.

Bombardier's aviation department will merge with Standard Aviation Manufacturing Company. The merged Standard Bombardier Aviation will become an aviation group covering commercial aircraft (regional airliners), business aircraft and large unmanned aerial vehicles.

It can be said that this acquisition shocked the world. Although the acquisition price of US$22 billion is not too shocking, this acquisition will change the situation of global rail transit groups, and even there are some changes in the aviation field...

According to media reports, after Alstom merged with Bombardier's railway business to form Alstom-Bombardier Heavy Industries Group, they will surpass Siemens in the global rail transit field and become the world's largest rail transit group.

At the same time, Alstom-Bombardier Heavy Industries Group will also occupy more than 45% of the market share in the European regional train field.

After the acquisition was made public, the EU antitrust agency announced that it would conduct an investigation into the merger of Alstom and Bombardier's railway business.

For a time, many people have discussed whether this merger, which affects the situation in the rail transit field, can be approved by the EU antitrust agency. Related comments in many newspapers believe that even if the EU finally allows this merger, it will inevitably have negative consequences. Restrictions on some businesses of both parties - such as forcing the two companies to sell part of their businesses after the merger.

Although before this, Barron had obtained information from many sources, especially from Cameron and French President Hollande, about their meeting with European Commission President Barroso. Made a certain commitment...

But he still wasn't ready to "pop the champagne at halftime"...

After staying in India for a few days, he and Jenny arrived in China on the Devonshire.

What attracted the attention of some people who were concerned about the merger of Alstom and Bombardier's railway businesses was that on the same day that Barron arrived in Yanjing, China, Henri Poupard Lafarge also arrived in Yanjing.

Henri Poupard Lafarge is the Alstom Group's vice president in charge of railway business. He flew directly to Yanjing from Canada - before that, he participated in the acquisition of Bombardier by Alstom's consortium. company and is considered the most likely candidate to become Alstom-Bombardier Heavy Industries Group Chairman and President in the future.

Although Henry's arrival in China this time was nominally to inspect Alstom's investment companies in China, and to examine China's experience in the development of high-speed rail...

But some officials including Cameron, Hollande, and the EU understood that at this time, Henri Poupard Lafarge temporarily left the front line of acquisition integration with Bombardier and went to China, and also worked with Bombardier. The meaning of the Duke of Devonshire's meeting is self-evident - if the EU really does not approve this merger, or makes other demands, then I am afraid that this inspection will determine the future of China's British High-Speed ​​Railway Line 2. A partner...

Of course, this is Barron's deliberate pressure on the EU. After all, only half of the people can travel a thousand miles. At this time, he does not want the EU to put the wrong string on the wrong string and cause any trouble in the acquisition process.

Of course, Henry Poupard Lafarge's coming to China was not really just a show.

Even if this merger is completed, he will cooperate with Chinese companies on many projects for the efficiency of completing the British High-Speed ​​Railway Line 2 - but in that case, including high-speed rail trains and some related equipment, they can be handed over to Alstom-Bombardier Heavy Industries Group, but in terms of project construction, as well as overall project scheduling and organization, Huaxia Company has experience in large-scale projects including the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway, and is already much better than England.

Moreover, only by handing over the construction and related cooperation of a considerable part of the project to Huaxia Company can we obtain a relatively high proportion of Huaxia loans for British High Speed ​​Rail Line 2 - over the years, Huaxia has also been willing to help them through foreign investment and loans. Enterprises obtain overseas projects.

In this case, cooperation with China can at least achieve a "win-win" between Barron and the other party.

Besides, instead of lending money to people like Anil Ambani, which cannot be recovered, it is better for China to give the loan to itself, which can at least ensure that it will be paid back on time...

In addition to Henri Poupard Lafarge, Amber Sheehan came to China this time.

At the beginning of this year, Amber Sheehan, a "veteran" of Barron's, resigned as CEO of DS Group, and Daisy took over.

However, Amber Sheehan still serves as the chairperson of the Supervisory Committee of the DS Group Board of Directors and is responsible for the group's supervisory responsibilities.

Last week, DS Holdings invested in the acquisition of British rail transport operator First Group (First Group) and renamed it British First Railway Group.

Although the amount of this acquisition was not high - the market value of the First Group before this was only about US$750 million, DS Holdings bought the company for less than 600 million pounds (US$900 million).

However, Barron still appointed Amber Sheehan to personally serve as the president of the company, because Barron will next undertake the entire No. 2 high-speed rail project through the British First Railway Group.

He needs to rely on Amber Sheehan's personal ability and rich experience to complete such a huge project.

Therefore, after Amber Sheehan arrived in China, all contacts with relevant Chinese companies regarding the British High-Speed ​​Rail Line 2 project were handled by Amber, and Barron would not be personally involved.