Bombardier, Jilted by Siemens, Keeps Up Search for Rail Partner

(Bloomberg) -- Missing out on a partnership with Siemens AG of Germany hasn’t derailed Bombardier Inc.’s ambitions for a deal to bolster its train business.

Bombardier will “continue to assess opportunities to make our rail business even stronger,’’ Chief Executive Officer Alain Bellemare said Thursday, after being asked about prospects for the unit after Siemens agreed in September to merge its rail-equipment business with France’s Alstom SA. “Everything is possible, but it needs to make some good strategic sense.’’

The Canadian maker of trains and planes spent several months discussing a rail combination with Siemens before the German company picked Alstom, Bloomberg News reported earlier this year. The head of one of Bombardier’s largest investors, Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec, said Wednesday that the manufacturer should consider its own rail partner.

On Thursday, Bellemare told analysts on a conference call that the company would continue studying potential moves “as long as they would create value for shareholders.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Frederic Tomesco in Montreal at tomesco@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Case at bcase4@bloomberg.net, Susan Warren

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