The Hungarian state has received approval from the Austrian competition authority to acquire Strabag’s stake in the Győr–Sopron–Ebenfurth Railway (GySEV), Minister of Construction and Transport János Lázár announced on his Facebook page.
Since Strabag has previously stated that it does not consider its stake in the railway company a strategic investment and is willing to sell it, the last obstacle has been removed for the Hungarian state to further increase its ownership in GySEV.
János Lázár recalled that the Hungarian state had already been the majority owner of the company, which also has the Austrian state as a shareholder. However, under a contract signed by previous left-wing governments, the Austrian state retained its veto power in the company, despite the Hungarian state investing increasing amounts of money into it, while the Austrians failed to meet their capital contribution obligations. Nevertheless, Hungarian influence in the company did not increase.
According to the minister, the national government did not accept that Hungarians would be a minority in their own company. That is why Prime Minister Viktor Orbán tasked János Lázár with addressing the situation.
The minister noted that the company would remain joint, as the Austrian state would continue to be a minority shareholder, which János Lázár personally welcomes, expressing his belief in all forms of Central European cooperation. However, from now on, Hungary will have the decisive say in the railway company, as the Hungarian state’s share will increase to 71.7 per cent with the acquisition of Strabag’s 6.13 per cent stake, thus restoring ownership rights.
According to the minister, the transaction is good news for all passengers and employees of the Hungarian railway, as GySEV’s development, achieved with Hungarian taxpayer money, will now significantly contribute to the advancement of Hungarian State Railways (MÁV).
While the post does not disclose the price of Strabag’s share package, December media reports mentioned a 10 million euro offer.
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