Orbán’s Gov't is Trying Buy Strabag’s Stake in Hungarian-Austrian Railway Company
- 15 Dec 2023 7:54 AM
- Hungary Around the Clock
The state has filed an official bid to purchase the 6% stake held by Austrian construction company Strabag in the Hungarian-Austrian railway company Gysev, Telex reports.
The Hungarian state has slightly less than a 66% stake in Gysev, the Austrian state slightly more than 28% and Strabag the rest, which is around 6%.
If Hungary acquires the apparently small share of only 6% with what is said to be a favourable offer to Strabag, it will be in a much more advantageous position, as it will have more than a two-thirds majority, leaving the Austrian owners with little say in the running of the company.
According to Telex, relations between the Hungarian and Austrian owners are bad. It has been known for some time that Construction and Transport Minister János Lázár felt that the leaders of Gysev were favouring the minority Austrian owner rather than the majority Hungarian one, and he unilaterally dismissed Hana Dellermann, head of the company’s Austrian operations.
The Austrian side vehemently complained about this, Telex adds.
It observes that the government has now chosen not to seek a compromise but to fight the Austrians.
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