The takeover of Talgo, a manufacturer of rolling stock, by the Hungarian group Ganz-MAVAG has been blocked by intelligence, reports the Spanish daily El Pais, adding that the technology owned by the Spanish company could facilitate Russia's military logistics during the war with Ukraine.
It was Spanish intelligence that alerted Pedro Sanchez's government to the links with Russia Hungarian company Ganz-MAVAG – wrote the Spanish daily “El Pais” in its Wednesday edition. As the newspaper explains, The Spanish government rejected the takeover bid of Talgo by the Hungarian group Ganz-MAVAG, citing “insurmountable” risks to the protection of the country's strategic interests and national security.
The government's approval was a legal condition for the offer to acquire 100 percent of Talgo's shares, valued at around €620 million. Under foreign investment regulations, when a transaction exceeds €500 million, it requires government approval.
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Contacts with the Russian manufacturer
According to reports from “El Pais”, the government Spain based it on reports from institutions responsible for the country's security, including the National Intelligence Center (CNI). As the daily writes, they indicated links between the Hungarian group and the Russians.
Ganz-MAVAG is a consortium in which 45 percent of the shares belong to a state investment fund subordinate to the Ministry of Economy Hungarianand 55 percent to the Hungarian railway carrier Magyar Vagon (MAV).
As El Pais writes, MAV maintained contacts with the Russian rail vehicle manufacturer Transmaszholding, with which it still has informal ties.
The reports of the Spanish intelligence and security institutions also emphasized the “need to defend Talgo's key technologies, in particular the automatic track change, which allows high-speed trains to travel on different track gauges and thus cross borders between countries.” El Pais writes that this technology could facilitate Russia's military logistics during the war with Ukraine.
“Russia also has Talgo materials requiring maintenance, which it has not been able to deal with due to sanctions imposed on Moscow,” the daily noted.
Ganz-MAVAG prepares applications to courts in Spain and the EU to block the takeover of Talgo.
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