András Tombor, a millionaire born in Hungary who worked more than two decades ago in Viktor Orbán's Government, is the owner of the company that wants to buy Talgo. The historic national train manufacturer is for sale and has caught the attention of the London-based businessman who sees railway development in Spain as an opportunity to expand his business. Tombor is the owner of Magyar Vagon, the holding company on which the vehicle he would use to buy Talgo depends, the DJJ company, a firm specialized in the design, repair and manufacture of convoys for passenger and freight trains, as well as trams and subways. , in Hungary and Egypt, a country where, precisely, the Spanish company has begun to operate.
Tombor, for the moment, has put on the table a price of 5 euros per share, higher than the 4.28 euros with which Talgo closed last Friday. He has met with the board of directors of the company chaired by Carlos de Palacio and has shown his interest in landing in Spain thanks to his credentials in the sector. DJJ was once part of the Canadian giant Bombardier and has a staff of more than half a thousand workers. Its industrial center of operations is in Dunakeszi, north of Budapest.
Tombor's profile is most peculiar. A fan of the sport of polo (he has a team with which he participates in tournaments), his foray into politics was between 1998 and 2002. Then Orbán was a very different Prime Minister of Hungary than the one he is today. As an incipient democracy at the beginning of the millennium, the current prominent leader of the European extreme right joined the European People's Party (EPP). The millionaire interested in Talgo was then his advisor on the national security and strategic investments council. After the 2002 electoral defeat Tombor focused on his business, both in Hungary and in other countries.
The possible new owner of Talgo has outstanding philanthropic work. Specifically, he dedicates part of his assets to financing an educational center, the Mathias Corvinus School, which defends conservative positions in Hungary. As a businessman, he is also the main shareholder of the Czech company Aero Vodochody, dedicated to the design and manufacture of aircraft.
His desire to invest in Spain goes even beyond Talgo. Tombor also has interests in the wine sector, with its own winery that operates in Central European countries. For now, because his intention is to explore possible businesses related to wine production in one of the main world producers.
What is András Tombor looking for when trying to buy Talgo? Acquire, first of all, a company with mature contracts in Spain, Germany and Denmark, as well as in emerging economies such as Saudi Arabia, with the AVE to Mecca as a star project, or the aforementioned Egypt. The Spanish company also offers the Hungarian businessman to be part of the business of liberalizing the national railway market, since Talgo is the producer of half of the high-speed convoys currently circulating in Spain.
Talgo is also attractive for three other reasons: on the one hand, its 350 train model reaches a speed of 350 km/h, higher than its competitors. On the other hand, the company's own variable gauge technology, so that trains can go from one size of track to another, is essential for cross-border routes, such as Barcelona-Paris or Madrid-Lisbon. Finally, Talgo has a green hydrogen train project underway with Repsol, which has also caught the attention of the Tombor group.
