Siemens, Alstom join forces to create European rail champion: Reuters

German industrial group Siemens and French rival Alstom agreed this week to merge their rail operations, creating a European champion to better withstand the international advance of Chinese state-owned CRRC Corp, Reuters reported. The Siemens and Alstom transport businesses, which span the French TGV and German ICE high-speed trains as well as signaling and rail technology, had combined sales of about 15 billion euros (US$18 billion) in their last fiscal years. Their merger is a blow to Canada's Bombardier, which also held talks with Siemens, sources have said. Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec owns 30 percent of Bombardier’s rail business.

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