(Bloomberg) -- Talgo SA has received a letter from steel company Sidenor Aceros Especiales SL expressing interest in buying the Spanish trainmaker after the government vetoed an attempt by Hungary’s Ganz-Mavag Europe Zrt.
Sidenor is considering a “total or partial acquisition,” Talgo said in a regulatory filing.
The move follows a controversial bid by Budapest-based Ganz-Mavag, whose offer was vetoed by the Spanish government in August over concerns that the deal threatened national security. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez had opposed the bid publicly early on, drawing attention to Ganz-Mavag’s links to Hungary’s nationalist government.
Talgo was also approached in July by the Czech Republic’s Skoda Transportation, which proposed a “business combination” that was rejected by the Spanish company’s board.
The trainmaker, which was founded in 1942, is known for its innovative wheel system and tilting mechanism that enables trains to switch track types at high speeds. Its backlog increased by 54% to a record €4.2 billion as of the end of 2023.
Sidenor has steel plants across Spain.
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