EUROPE: Hitachi Rail and MerMec have signed a put option agreement for the sale of Hitachi Rail’s main line signalling business in France and its signalling business units in Germany and the UK.
A put option gives the seller the right, but not an obligation, to sell the businesses to the other party on the agreed terms.
Hitachi Rail is required to divest its existing main line signalling businesses in the three countries as part of EU and UK regulatory approval for its planned acquisition of Thales Ground Transport Systems.
It is to retain its other operations in the affected countries, including its CBTC technology centre in France and its rolling stock and maintenance business in the UK.
‘Today we have achieved a major milestone towards the final acquisition of Thales GTS, which is a key part of our growth strategy’, said Hitachi Rail Group CEO Giuseppe Marino when the agreement with MerMec was announced on January 26. ‘This solution also will grant the divested business a long-term future.’
Vito Pertosa, President of MerMec Group and its parent company Angel Holding, said ‘we are confident that the synergies that will be achieved with MerMec Group, led by our CEO Luca Necchi Ghiri, will further increase our competitive advantages, strengthening our worldwide presence.’
