After months of uncertainty, the Basque consortium formed by Clerbil, the company of Basque businessman and president of Sidenor, José Antonio Jainaga; the Basque government's public fund Finkatuz; and the BBK and Vital banking foundations, shareholders of Kutzabank, have finalized the agreement to acquire 29.76% of Talgo from the British fund Trilantic, as reported by the train manufacturer to the Spanish National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) this Friday. The deal involves a payment of €156.7 million, as reported by Talgo, which corresponds to the fixed portion of the preliminary agreement signed last February.

The back-and-forth over control of Talgo continues. Finally, the Spanish government and the Basque government agreed that SEPI, the investment arm of the Spanish government, will participate in Sidenor's takeover of Talgo, as the regional government announced in a press release Tuesday night, following the Bilateral Commission between the two governments held in Madrid. "This is long-awaited news: both governments have channeled SEPI's participation to make the [Sidenor] operation viable and thus maintain Talgo's activity and occupation in the Basque Country," the Basque government reported. Beyond that, however, Basque Basque Regional President Imanol Pradales declined to go into detail about the basis of this participation, that is, whether it involves the purchase of a portion of Talgo's shares by SEPI or the granting of a long-term convertible loan, as reported by the newspaper. The CountryPradales explained that the agreement will be developed "in the coming weeks." "I want discretion," he said. Be that as it may, the move provides a breath of fresh air that should allow the Basque company Sidenor to take definitive control of Talgo: the entry of SEPI would be a way to strengthen the company's accounts and allow banks to refinance its debt.

Since Tomàs Muniesa took over as president of CaixaBank at the beginning of the year, taking over from José Ignacio Goirigolzarri, the new positions he has inherited have gradually emerged. Now it's the turn of the presidency of the bank's Foundation for Dual Training, which was also held by Goirigolzarri. There are also changes at Talgo, which has half its board vacated due to a wave of resignations. These are some of the most significant signings of the week.

Talgo remains in Basque hands. After months of back-and-forth, the English fund Trilantic has closed an agreement with the steel company Sidenor for the purchase of 29.7% of the train manufacturer's share capital, as reported by the company through the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) this Friday afternoon. The outcome has come after Sidenor has once again improved its offer, raising it to 184 million euros. In addition, it is an offer that has the financial support of the Basque government, as well as the BBK and Vital foundations, shareholders of the Kutxabank bank. This Friday afternoon, the lehendakari Imanol Pradales was "optimistic" about the outcome of the negotiation: "[The agreement] will contribute to consolidating Talgo's roots in Euskadi, to reinforcing industrial employment and strengthening the future of the company," said Pradales.

The purchase of Talgo, or at least the stake of the English investment fund Trilantic (30%), is entering its final stretch without a foreign takeover bid in sight. Trilantic, the shareholder leading the Pegaso consortium (40% of Talgo's share capital), had set February 14 as the deadline to receive offers for its stake in the Spanish train manufacturer. After days of uncertainty, for now everything points to the fact that it will only have the offer from the Basque company Sidenor on the table, while the possibility of a foreign proposal, such as that of the Polish state fund PFR, has completely cooled off, market sources point out. The same has happened in the case of the Indian company Jupiter. All of this has translated into a stumble for Talgo on the stock market. The shares of the Spanish train manufacturer closed the day on Thursday at 3.91 euros, which represents a fall of more than 9% compared to yesterday Wednesday.