EC blocks mergers of Siemens and Alstom, Wieland and Aurubis

Siemens and Alstom wanted to merge their rail operations in order to better compete with the likes of Chinese state-owned outfit CRRC on a global stage - a move that was backed by both the French and German governments.

However, European competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager stated that she had opted to block the deal to protect competition in the European railway industry.

"Without sufficient remedies, this merger would have resulted in higher prices for the signalling systems that keep passengers safe and for the next generations of very high-speed trains," said Vestager.

Despite the knockback by regulators, analysts at Berenberg upgraded Alstom to 'buy' on Wednesday, calling the firm a "first-class ticket at a discount".

Berenberg also issued Alstom with a new price target of €42 per share, noting that many other upsides within the firm's numbers had been ignored as a result of the potential tie-up.

"In our view, the market has been solely focused on the potential merger with Siemens Mobility, which has been vetoed by EU regulators today, and is mispricing the fact that Alstom’s earnings could double by 2025," said Berenberg.

EU antitrust regulators also rejected a bid by German copper outfit Wieland-Werke to snap up a business unit from the largest copper smelter in Europe, Aurubis, saying it would push up prices for consumers.

The two vetoes were seen by many as attempts to spur efforts made by France and Germany to soften EU competition rules in order to take a more global view of mergers.

Vestager said the companies involved in both details were unable to sufficiently address the regulator's serious competition concerns and also added that concessions fell short of acceptable in both cases.