The European Commission authorized this March the rachat d’Equans (technical and engineering services) by the Bouygues diversified group (construction, media, telecommunications) for 7.1 million euros, sous réserve de la cession d’une filiale in Belgium.
This sale includes “all current and future assets, staff and contracts of its ‘contact rail lines’ and ‘rail facilities’ branches,” the Commission, the EU’s competition watchdog, said. Railway contact lines are systems for transmitting electricity to trains through, in particular, overhead lines suspended over locomotives (catenaries). The French groups Equans and Bouygues, through Colas Rail Belgium, took the risk of maintaining a dominant position in these markets in Belgium.
The largest acquisition in the history of Bouygues
“These commitments fully remedy all the competition problems identified,” he said, stressing that his green light was “subject to [leur] with full respect”. At the beginning of November, the French energy giant Engie announced that it had chosen Bouygues over two other competitors to sell Equans, its subsidiary that brings together various technical services for companies and communities: energy management in buildings, ventilation, air conditioning , heating, digital, electricity and even fire safety.This acquisition is the largest in the history of the group created in 1952 by Francis Bouygues.
The British Competition Authority (CMA) expressed concern on Tuesday about this operation because the two groups are “close competitors in the supply of catenaries” in the United Kingdom. The two companies “are large and well-established players in Europe’s rail supply chain” and are “currently competing” for the HS2 high-speed line under construction, which will serve several cities in the north of England from London.
The tender for the HS2 line “is at an advanced stage” and the two companies are among a “small number of candidates in the final stages”, according to the CMA, which fears a reduction in competition that would result, in the end, in for a more expensive contract for the British taxpayer. Bouygues and Equans must now submit proposals to address the concerns of the CMA, which will then decide whether to carry out a full investigation.
Source: BFM TV
