Bombardier Transportation & the Adtranz Acquisition
I. Overview
Pierre Lortie = newly appointed President & Chief Operating Officer of Bombardier Transportation (BT), headquartered in St. Bruno, Quebec
BT = one of 3 major operating groups of Bombardier Inc. (BBD), headquartered in Montreal, Canada.
BBD = one of the world’s largest manufacturers of passenger rail cars
BBD recently completed acquisition of Adtranz from DaimlerChrysler, headquartered in Berlin, Germany
Acquisition would expand BT’s revenues & geographic scope; increase BT’s competencies in propulsion systems & train controls; complete its product portfolio
Before deal is solidified BT requires regulatory approval of the European Commission (EC) – lengthy process
Lortie began a thorough review of work accomplished & the planning efforts of the 2 companies undertaken to ensure efficient integration (including one-to-one meetings w/his senior management team)
BT was organized into 5 geographically-based operating units- North America, Atlantic Europe, Continental Europe, Mexico, & China – and one functional unit, Total Transit Systems (focused on turnkey projects)
Adtranz was organized around product segments and functions
Structure & allocation of responsibilities between the 2 companies. The organizational structures were incompatible.
BT’s management team in Europe was not involved in the discussions & reviews w/Adtranz
Lortie had his 1st meeting w/Rick Dobbelarere (VP of operations, BT-Atlantic Europe), and was presented w/questions regarding how BT & the senior management team would set priorities while waiting for EC approval: *Do we wait approval before taking steps toward the potential integration of Adtranz?
*Should we focus planning on improving product quality/reliability of Adtranz equipment w/existing customers?
*Should we start to institute personnel changes w/in BT in anticipation of the merger, if so, @ what pace? *Do we focus on revenue growth or cost-cutting?
II. Bombardier Company History
Joseph
Pierre Lortie = newly appointed President & Chief Operating Officer of Bombardier Transportation (BT), headquartered in St. Bruno, Quebec
BT = one of 3 major operating groups of Bombardier Inc. (BBD), headquartered in Montreal, Canada.
BBD = one of the world’s largest manufacturers of passenger rail cars
BBD recently completed acquisition of Adtranz from DaimlerChrysler, headquartered in Berlin, Germany
Acquisition would expand BT’s revenues & geographic scope; increase BT’s competencies in propulsion systems & train controls; complete its product portfolio
Before deal is solidified BT requires regulatory approval of the European Commission (EC) – lengthy process
Lortie began a thorough review of work accomplished & the planning efforts of the 2 companies undertaken to ensure efficient integration (including one-to-one meetings w/his senior management team)
BT was organized into 5 geographically-based operating units- North America, Atlantic Europe, Continental Europe, Mexico, & China – and one functional unit, Total Transit Systems (focused on turnkey projects)
Adtranz was organized around product segments and functions
Structure & allocation of responsibilities between the 2 companies. The organizational structures were incompatible.
BT’s management team in Europe was not involved in the discussions & reviews w/Adtranz
Lortie had his 1st meeting w/Rick Dobbelarere (VP of operations, BT-Atlantic Europe), and was presented w/questions regarding how BT & the senior management team would set priorities while waiting for EC approval: *Do we wait approval before taking steps toward the potential integration of Adtranz?
*Should we focus planning on improving product quality/reliability of Adtranz equipment w/existing customers?
*Should we start to institute personnel changes w/in BT in anticipation of the merger, if so, @ what pace? *Do we focus on revenue growth or cost-cutting?
II. Bombardier Company History
Joseph