Bombardier has accepted the offer for its rail division by French rail giant Alstom at a price of $8.4 billion.
A news release from Bombardier says it has signed a definitive Sale and Purchase Agreement with Alstom SA and the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec for the sale of its Transportation business to Alstom.
Bombardier admits the price is $350 million less than when the proposed sale was officially announced.
As for when this could happen, it looks like early next year. The company’s Thunder Bay union head, Dominic Pasqualino says from what he has read in the media, progress made to date means the keys to the plant will be handed over then. “In my mind, I think, from the first time you look at a house, to the time you give them an offer, and now maybe the offer is accepted, maybe that’s the stage we’re at. I’m sure all the financing has to go through.”
The union leader adds it does not matter who owns the local plant, contracts are needed to keep work, even though the sign will change from Bombardier to Alstom.
“We need a contract RIGHT NOW. I mean, we will run out of work at the end of 2021, and it takes that amount of time to get another contract started,” stresses Pasqualino.
He says while the federal and provincial governments are helping, they are not co-operating enough.
When asked what the problem is, Pasqualino could only speculate COVID-19 is distracting them, or simply that Liberals [current federal government] and Conservatives [current provincial government] don’t get along. He adds Alstom might have more access to funding, and the ability to bid on contracts.
