The French group Alstom announced on Tuesday that it had filed a request for arbitration before the International Chamber of Commerce, accusing the Canadian Bombardier of “breach of certain contractual provisions” after the acquisition of Bombardier Transport, finalized in early 2021.
“The claim is directed against Bombardier Inc., and relates to the breach of certain contractual provisions of the sale agreement dated September 16, 2020,” Alstom said in a brief statement.
“Bombardier has legitimate reasons to defend itself against Alstom’s claim and it intends to do so vigorously”, reacted the Canadian group, saying it “also intends to contest” certain adjustments to the sale price. which “turned out to be lower than previous estimates”.
He had already mentioned during the sale of “disagreements between the parties regarding certain adjustments”, specifying that he intended to contest them.
“The arbitration procedure could extend over several years”, according to him.
Alstom had obtained a discount to buy the railway activities of the Canadian conglomerate, in difficulty, finally acquired for 5.5 billion euros on January 29, 2021, against 5.8 to 6.2 billion euros advanced a year earlier.
The French group believes that many contracts entered into by Bombardier Transportation before the operation were likely to generate significant losses. Management has spent nearly 1.1 billion euros in provisions for the risks associated with these contracts.
Its CEO Henri Poupart-Lafarge also warned the markets that it would take three years to digest its much less profitable former competitor, which had upset investors.
“As the arbitration proceedings are confidential, Alstom will not make any further comments during this procedure,” the rail manufacturer said on Tuesday. “Bombardier is subject to confidentiality obligations,” added the Canadian group.
Bombardier is due to publish its first quarter results on May 5 and Alstom those for its staggered 2021/22 fiscal year on May 11.