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Enviado: **27/4/2006 22:09**

Buy Alstom, Sell Bouygues - Kepler

Thursday, April 27, 2006 9:45:41 AM ET
Dow Jones Newswires

1226 GMT [Dow Jones] Buy Alstom (1022047.FR) and sell Bouygues (12050.FR), says Edmund Shing at Kepler, following an analyst conference. Says that sooner or later, Bouygues will raise its stake in Alstom to 33%. "We believe..the investment in Alstom is in the prospect of a potential merger of some assets from Areva (427583.FR) with Alstom: ex-Framatone. It remains a political question so everything could change quickly." (BJL)

Enviado: **27/4/2006 8:20**

Bouygues to Acquire France's 21% Holding in Alstom (Update2)

April 27 (Bloomberg) -- Bouygues SA, France's second- largest builder, said it will acquire the French government's stake in Alstom SA for 2 billion euros ($2.5 billion).

The construction company, based in Paris, will pay 68.21 euros a share for the 21 percent holding, Bouygues said in a statement today. It agreed to retain the investment for at least three years, and won't tender an offer for the remaining shares.

Bouygues, which also owns a mobile-phone network and a stake in France's most-watched TV channel, is stepping in to replace the French government, which acquired its Alstom holding after leading a rescue of the company from near bankruptcy in 2003. France had to shed the holding by 2008 to comply with European Union conditions imposed as part of its approval for the bailout.

``It's a big surprise, we would have expected this later,'' said Andreas Willi, an analyst at JP Morgan Securities in London with a ``neutral'' rating on Alstom. ``It's driven more by French government considerations than economics.''

The two companies will work together to pursue contracts from customers that are demanding a broader range of activities and services from contractors. A joint venture may also be created to tap work in the hydropower industry, into which Alstom would contribute its entire hydropower unit.

New Excursion

Chief Executive Officer Martin Bouygues said Sept. 14 the company was looking to enter a wholly new business to bolster earnings, 18 years after expanding into television and a decade after creating a mobile-phone network.

``Alstom and Bouygues face common challenges,'' Bouygues said in a statement. The companies' cooperation ``will range from sharing analysis of specific markets to designing integrated services.''

Founded in 1952, Bouygues helped build the Sydney subway and the English Channel Tunnel between Britain and France. It also owns 42 percent of Television Francaise 1 SA, France's most- watched TV channel.

Alstom's quarterly orders surged to a three-year high in the three months through Dec. 31, placing it on course for its first annual profit in six years. Customer confidence is returning after the state-led bailout, sparked by faulty power turbines that drained more than 4 billion euros.

Bouygues said it has enough cash to cover the purchase and plans to pay for the stake without increasing capital. It said Standard & Poor's maintained it's A- credit rating on the company when consulted about the deal.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Thom Rose in Zurich at trose5@bloomberg.net

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Bouygues compra 21% da Alstom ao Estado Francês

Bouygues compra 21% da Alstom ao Estado Francês