Peugeot in talks to sell 75% Gefco stake PSA Peugeot Citroën is in exclusive talks with Russian Railways to sell 75 per cent of its Gefco logistics division to the rail operator for €800m. The French carmaker, which is offloading €1.5bn of assets to keep its business afloat amid an industry downturn, said it would sell the stake to the Russian state-owned group after Gefco paid Peugeot €100m in a special dividend. Russian Railways, which owns the country's track and rail infrastructure, said it would take over management of Gefco and all of its existing business units, including those providing services to Peugeot. Gefco's remit also includes handling logistics for Peugeot's alliance partner General Motors in Europe, including Russia, under an agreement signed between the two carmakers in July. Peugeot said that the tie-up would allow Gefco and the Russian rail group to become an "unrivalled" operator in logistics services linking Europe and Asia. Russian Railways said that the deal, in addition to helping its own business, would promote "the global competitiveness of the Russian economy." The Russian group said it was interested in Gefco as one of Europe's top 10 leading logistics operators. The French division employs 10,300 people and reported sales of €3.8bn last year. The deal is subject to approval by antitrust authorities, the two companies said. Peugeot is cutting costs and selling assets and property to raise cash in the face of falling car sales and intense price competition in the car industry in western Europe. In March, it raised €1bn in a rights issue to fund its alliance with GM, which is also losing money in Europe. Peugeot's shares were down slightly in early trading.