Hitachi has agreed to acquire Italy-based Finmeccanica’s rail transport engineering company, AnsaldoBreda, and its 40% stake in signalling supplier Ansaldo STS.
In November last year, Hitachi submitted a bid for acquisition after Finmeccanica shortlisted Hitachi and China’s CNR Corporation for the sale.
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Hitachi will pay €9.65 a share to purchase signalling unit Ansaldo STS, resulting in a total consideration of €773m.
The company will also launch a mandatory tender offer to buy all the remaining shares in Ansaldo STS.
The purchase of shares in rail signal system unit would help Hitachi to sell combined carriage and signal packages and also offers a manufacturing presence in Europe.
Hitachi Rail global chief executive officer Alistair Dormer said: "With the addition of these companies, we are in an excellent position to transform Hitachi Rail into one of the strongest global players in the sector.
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By GlobalData"Today’s announcement is a further testament to the long-term vision we have for growth of Hitachi. By combining forces, we significantly strengthen our market position, aspiring to become a leading global total solution provider to the rail sector."
The Italian firm decided to sell its assets in order to cut the €4.8bn ($6.1bn) debt and focus on its aerospace and defence businesses.
In 2001, AnsaldoBreda was established through a merger between Ansaldo Trasporti and Breda Costruzioni Railway.
This driverless metro train manufacturer currently owns four manufacturing plants and employs 2,300 workers.
Headquartered in Genoa, Italy, Ansaldo STS offers design, system implementation and management, signalling services and railway and urban traffic supervision.
Image: Ansaldo Breda’s ETR 1000 (New Frecciarossa) train built for the Italian State Railways. Photo: courtesy of Ansaldobreda.
