The Spanish veto of the takeover bid would be related to the existence of informal connections between the Hungarian group that wants to buy Talgo and Russian business interests.
He rejection of the Spanish Government to the purchase of Talgo by the Hungarian holding company All Mavag was based on reports from National Intelligence Center (CNI) and the department of National securityaccording to what the Spanish press published this Wednesday.
The information, advanced by the newspaper ‘El País’ citing sources knowledgeable on the subject, would reveal the Ganz Mavag’s ties to Russian interests. On Tuesday, the Government denied the takeover bid by the Hungarian group, which seeks 100% control of the Spanish railway company, based on the need to safeguard “strategic and national security interests of Spain”.
The Ministry of Economy announced the news after the meeting on Tuesday of the Council of Ministers, which disapproved the operation after submitting it to the analysis of the Foreign Investment Boardwhose conclusions warned of “risks to ensure national security and public order”.
Ganz Mavag announces legal action
The Hungarian group reacted to the veto by announcing that it will undertake legal actions to appeal in Spain and at the community level, although the Spanish Ministry of Economy assured that the decision complies with national and European Union regulations (EU) regarding foreign direct investments and protection of the internal market.
In a press release issued on Tuesday, the Spanish Government also highlighted that Talgo represents a “strategic company within a key sector for the economic security, territorial cohesion and industrial development of Spain”.
The official version does not specify in more detail the details that motivated the blocking of the operation, alleging that the file contains classified information.
Informal connections between the Hungarian group and Russian business interests
‘Euronews’ had already advanced in March that behind the Talgo purchase operation there could have been connections to a Russian plot. After studying the composition of the Hungarian holding company in question, one of the largest conglomerates in Hungary and with a long tradition in the railway sector, the figure of Andras Tambor.
The group All Mavag It is made up of two business giants: Hungarian Wagonowner of 55% of the shares, and Corvinus, a state fund that controls the remaining 45%. Andras Tambor es one of the main directors from the Hungarian consortium and a man very close to the country’s current prime minister, the ultraconservative Víktor Orbán.
According to reliable sources, the businessman was part of the Hungarian president’s security cabinet, whose tuning with the Russian president, Vladimir Putinis widely known. Furthermore, the founder of Magyar Vagon is Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky, Minister of Defense in the Orbán Government from 2022.
According to information from ‘El País’, this Hungarian company would have maintained connections with the Russian Transmashholding (THM) until it formally abandoned its shareholding when Western sanctions aimed at Russian interests began, after the start of the large scale invasion of Ukraine. The CNI and National Security reports would point, however, to the persistence of informal ties.
