The Commission for Participations and Transfers, which must give the green light to each sale of a company by the State, will soon work on a new file: the privatization of the public transport operator Transdev.
This giant of 102,000 people, and nearly 10 billion euros in turnover, was born from the merger, in 2011, of the transport activities of Veolia with those of the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations (CDC). The latter holds 66% of the capital, the remaining 34% being owned by a German family group, Rethmann. During a review of its holdings, the CDC decided to sell part of it. The candidates had until Friday, November 22 to take a position. According to our information, the French investment fund Meridiam, specializing in infrastructure, would be a candidate, without having any illusions.
The favorite would indeed be the Rethmann group. The latter confirmed to Monde his intention to make a “very good offer, at a good price, with strong commitments on the social aspect”. He also ensures that “Transdev is and will remain a French company”. This is a requirement from the Caisse des Dépôts which would keep 30% of the capital to ensure this. She hopes to pocket more than 1 billion euros in the operation.
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Although Transdev is less known to the French than SNCF or RATP, this historic bus and coach operator is present throughout the country, where it also operates trams, trains and a few small metro lines. Transdev thus manages transport from Reims (Marne), Grenoble or Saint-Etienne. In Côtes-d'Armor, the bucolic Paimpol station and the train that connects it to Pontrieux are also there. Above all, Transdev will operate, from 2025, the first TER outside the SNCF, which will run between Nice and Marseille. It will also put the small railway line between Contrexéville (Vosges) and Nancy back into service, by managing the infrastructure with the public works group NGE.
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Transdev's activities in France, however, represent less than 30% of its turnover. Over the years, the company, present in nineteen countries, has become the bus operator of Bogota, the operator of the largest tram network, that of Melbourne (Australia), and the first metro line from Quito. Transdev is also the main competitor of Deutsche Bahn, the historic rail operator in Germany.
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