Deals
Siemens-Alstom Deal Teeters on Brink Amid Fierce Lobbying
- German, French firms were said to be expecting EU block
- Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire met EU’s Vestager on Monday
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The European Union’s top competition official all but sounded the death knell on a planned rail merger between Siemens AG and Alstom SA when she suggested she wasn’t swayed by antitrust concessions the companies have said won’t be improved.
Margrethe Vestager told reporters Monday in Paris that while she was still open to a new proposal, it would have to be “very blunt,” implying their current offer isn’t enough to maintain effective competition. Bloomberg reported Friday that Vestager’s team is poised to veto the tie-up between the Franco-German rivals.