An employee of French engineering group Alstom works on a Euroduplex TGV train at a plant near La Rochelle, France, on Aug. 31, 2016.Regis Duvignau/Reuters
French TGV high-speed train maker Alstom expects to secure European Union approval by the end of the month to buy Bombardier’s rail business, Chief Executive Henri Poupart-Lafarge said on Wednesday.
Poupart-Lafarge also told a parliamentary hearing that Alstom hoped to find a solid candidate to buy its French site in Reichshoffen in eastern France.
The sale of Reichshoffen site where Alstom makes regional train Coradia Polyvalent is part of concessions the French company offered to win EU backing.
By buying Montreal-based Bombardier’s train division, Alstom is seeking to create the world’s second largest train manufacturer to compete more effectively with Chinese leader CRRC Corp.
Alstom shares were down 0.9 per cent at 0914 GMT.
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