LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s competition watchdog said on Wednesday it would clear Hitachi’s acquisition of Thales’ signaling business, as the Japanese firm responded to the regulator’s concerns by offering to sell part of its activity in the field.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) estimated that the merger, worth €1.7 billion, could harm competition, as both companies are the main suppliers of signaling for mainline railway lines. and urban, alongside Siemens and Alstom.
Hitachi responded by offering to sell its existing mainline signaling businesses in the UK, France and Germany, which the CMA said would ensure that customers such as Network Rail would not be affected by the merger.
The CMA also said it was no longer concerned about competition in urban rail networks like the London Underground, after examining new evidence.
Hitachi made a similar offer to sell assets in France and Germany to address EU competition concerns.
The EU competition authority has set a November 6 deadline for issuing its decision.
(Reporting Paul Sandle; Nathan Vifflin, editing by Kate Entringer)
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