Train merger gets green light from shareholders

Raft of regulatory approvals pending; deal will create global rolling stock giant

The booth of CNR Corp at a recent railways expo, which was held in Beijing. The merger of CSR Corp and CNR Corp is expected to pave the way for the establishment of the world's largest maker of rolling stock. ZOU HONG/CHINA DAILY

Shareholders of CSR Corp and CNR Corp approved a proposed merger of the two companies on Monday, paving the way for the establishment of the world's largest maker of rolling stock with annual revenue of more than $30 billion.

All assets, liabilities, certifications, staff, contracts and other rights and obligations of the two companies will go to the new merged entity, both CSR and CNR said in separate announcements.

CNR holds 51.83 percent of its listed company, while HKSCC Nominees Ltd holds 17.39 percent and an investment subsidiary of the parent group holds 2.82 percent. The rest is held by parties including China's National Social Security Fund and China Construction Bank Corp.

CSR holds 56.48 percent of its listed company, while HKSCC Nominees Ltd holds 14.62 percent and the remaining shareholders have less than 1 percent.

The merger still requires approval by the China Securities Regulatory Commission, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd (which runs the city's stock exchange), Ministry of Commerce, overseas antitrust regulators and other agencies.

The merged company will be named China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation, and it will control the vast majority of the domestic market for rolling stock and urban transit rail cars.

CSR will issue new shares to CNR shareholders in exchange for their shares in CNR.

The State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission will hold a controlling equity stake in the merged company.

The SASAC has approved the merger, the two companies announced last Thursday. Following that announcement, shares of CSR climbed about 7.6 percent and those of CNR increased by 8 percent on Friday.