Spanish train maker Talgo's shares drop as government blocks takeover
Spain blocks takeover of Talgo by Hungarian consortium
Says deal would entail risks to national security
Talgo shares drop as much as 10%
Ganz-Mavag, Talgo minority shareholders weighing legal action
Adds Ganz-Mavag and minority shareholders announcing legal action in paragraphs 5 and 6
By Inti Landauro
MADRID, Aug 27 (Reuters) -Shares in Spain's Talgo TLGO.MC dropped as much as 10% on Tuesday after the government blocked a 619 million-euro ($691 million) takeover bid for the train maker from Hungarian consortium Ganz-Mavag due to national security concerns.
"The cabinet has agreed today to not authorise the foreign direct investment in Talgo by Ganz-Mavag Europe Private Limited," the economy ministry said in a statement. "The analysis has determined that authorising this operation would entail risks to national security and public order."
Stock market regulator CNMV halted trading in Talgo shares in the early afternoon after the decision was first reported by local media. The shares fell as much as 10% when trading resumed following the ministry's statement, and were down 8.3% in mid-afternoon trading.
A Talgo spokesperson said the company would wait for information from Ganz-Mavag on the next steps, adding that Talgo "will make its own decisions".
A spokesperson for Ganz-Mavag in Spain said the consortium would "take legal action, both in Spain and in Europe" against the Spanish government's decision.
The Spanish Association of Minority Shareholders of Listed Companies said it would challenge Spain's regulation allowing the suspension of foreign investments in domestic courts and was weighing bringing the case before the European Union.
Investment fund Trilantic - which owns almost half of Talgo's shares - did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Ganz-Mavag, which includes Hungary's state fund Corvinus, launched a public tender offer in March for all the shares in the manufacturer of Spain's signature AVE high-speed trains.
Spanish officials have repeatedly described Talgo as a strategic company, given its access to sensitive information on the country's railway network and, by extension, national security.
Transport Minister Oscar Puente had said the government would do "everything possible" to prevent the takeover.
In their reports, local media linked the government's veto to concerns over Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's close links to Russia.
After Ganz-Mavag launched its bid, reports emerged of other potential buyers for Talgo, including Switzerland-based Stadler Rail SRAIL.S, privately-owned Czech rival Skoda and Spanish investment fund Criteria.
But only Skoda, which is unrelated to the carmaker owned by Germany's Volkswagen VOWG.DE, last month made an offer for a "business combination and industrial merger", though it eventually said it would not file a formal counter-bid.
($1 = 0.8956 euros)
Reporting by Inti Landauro, Jesús Aguado, Belén Carreño and Emma Pinedo in Madrid, Matteo Allievi in Gdansk and Boldizsar Gyori in Budapest; Writing by David Latona; Editing by Andrei Khalip and Mark Potter
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