Three firms interested in Trainose
Russian Railways, Athens-listed GEK Terna and Italy’s Trenitalia have formally expressed their interest in the acquisition of the 100 percent stake in Greek railway service operator Trainose in the context of the first stage of the tender by state sell-off fund TAIPED which ended on Friday.
Well-informed sources said that China’s Cosco has not expressed an interest because – as one put it – “it did not have enough time to prepare within the period that TAIPED set, about one month.”
Russian Railways and GEK Terna tabled separate bids even though they had submitted a joint offer in the previous tender process. Sources from the two companies told Kathimerini that this was done for technical reasons, and both informed TAIPED that they continue to cooperate, something which may take on a more formal character later on in the process.
As things stand now, the deadline for the submission of binding bids for Trainose is May 31.
Despite Cosco’s absence, which was always a possibility, according to officials involved in the tender, TAIPED appears rather optimistic about the outcome of the process given the presence of three suitors – as long as this translates into binding offers.
