Siemens and Alstom announced on Friday, November 16, they will not seek a hearing in front of European Union regulators to address antitrust concerns about their planned rail merger.
The companies have the right to a formal hearing, but announced in a joint statement that they had submitted written answers in response to queries from the European Commission about the merger.
They stated they were now focusing on “ongoing constructive discussions” to address concerns raised by the Commission.
Germany’s Siemens and France’s Alstom, the maker of the TGV high speed train, agreed last year to merge their rail operations, creating a company with €15 billion (US$17.1 billion) in revenue and a workforce of 62,000.
Siemens and Alstom announced the planned rail merger in September last year, backed by French President Emmanuel Macron, but criticized by opposition politicians amid fears of French loss of control of the TGV high-speed train.
