OREANDA-NEWS. March 04, 2010. Alstom and Transmashholding (TMH), Russia's largest rolling stock manufacturer, signed three documents which firm up the strategic partnership agreement that they signed on 31 March 2009. These documents were signed in the presence of Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev, President of the Russian Federation, and Nicolas Sarkozy, President of France, reported the press-centre of Transmashholding.

The partners both signed:

• a Share Purchase Agreement under the terms and conditions of which Alstom acquires a 25% stake + 1 share in Transmashholding's parent company, Breakers Investment BV.

• an amendment to the current Shareholders’ Agreement between the shareholders on how the company is to be managed.

• a Master Cooperation Agreement between Transmashholding and Alstom Transport which specifies the terms according to which their joint activities in developing and manufacturing new rolling stock and components for railway equipment are to be carried out.

Alstom's acquisition of a stake in TMH is subject to certain conditions. As soon as these conditions have been met, within a maximum of six months, Alstom will make an initial payment of US\\$75 million to TMH.. The balance will be paid in 2012, and the exact amount will depend on Transmashholding's results for the period 2008-2011.

Under the terms and conditions of the strategic partnership agreement signed on 31 March 2009, a representative of Alstom Transport was appointed Transmashholding’s new deputy managing director. He was joined in Russia by a team of French experts, all specialists in manufacturing, engineering, human resources and financial control.

A joint engineering company - "Tekhnologii Relsovogo Transporta - TRT" has already been set up and registered in Russia. This company is tasked with creating Russian centres of excellence for designing and manufacturing rolling stock and key components, integrating the latest technologies developed by Alstom Transport and TMH. This engineering centre is already working on the design of an electric passenger locomotive, the EP-20, capable of speeds of up to 200 km/h, which will serve as a template for a future range of new Russian locomotives for various uses.