Bombardier-Adtranz Merger Meets Commission Concern

Brussels December 2000

The European Commission recently announced that it will not allow the merger of Bombardier Transport and Adtranz to go through until it has done a thorough investigation, which may take as long as four months. This decision has surprised many of those involved in the industry.

It is said that the European Commission is concerned that when merged, Bombardier and Adtranz will become the world’s largest supplier of rail. This is a situation that the Commission’s Directorate General for Competition is unwilling to accept.

DaimlerChrysler made the decision to sell Adtranz in August of this year. The Commission began investigating soon after, but many hoped they would get a final ruling by the 6th of December, the extended deadline given by the Commission. However, a four-month second stage investigation will now begin.