GERMANY: GERMAN, SWEDISH AND SWISS RAILWAY ENGINEERING MERGER

ENGLISH / GERMAN / NAT The European Union Commission has given it's blessing to a merger which will create the world's largest railway engineering company. The rail engineering divisions of Germany's Daimler-Benz AG and Swedish-Swiss engineering group A-B-B, Asea Brown Boveri, Ltd. plan to merge January 1, 1996. Airport shuttle trains, underground trains, and overland trains -- the new mega company will produce them all. The company will be able to offer a complete range of light-rail, diesel, inter city and regional electric trains, people movers, and switching systems. The new operation will be called A-B-B Daimler-Benz Transportation. The designated chairman of A-B-B Daimler-Benz Transportation said the approval has been long awaited. SOUNDBITE: (English) "To me and all my and all my colleagues in more than 40 countries it means the long period of uncertainty is over and now we can start the foundation of a new worldwide full complete railway company." SUPER CAPTION: Kaare Vagner, Chairman of A-B-B Daimler-Benz Transportation The two companies have posted combined 1995 sales of 3.5 (b) billion European Currency Units (ECU), equal to about 9 (b) billion U-S dollars. The new company will employ 22 thousand workers in 40 nations. SOUNDBITE: (German) "We have a complete customer program. We have all sorts of products from the biggest locomotive to the smallest tram and we also have the possibility to take over big projects when we use the capacities we have in several countries which we can unite and which will make us very competitive." SUPER CAPTION: Kaare Vagner, Chairman of A-B-B Daimler-Benz Transportation A-E-G Daimler-Benz A-G must sell its Kiepke Electrik GmbH unit by early summer 1996 to comply with the terms of the European Union Commission's approval. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/5cae4cd589e254ab995561dc24e74c36 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork