German transport technology company Vossloh has signed a contract to sell its Rail Vehicles business unit in Spain to Swiss train manufacturer Stadler Rail.
Stadler will make a cash payment of €48m, as well as take over debt liabilities of €124m.
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Subject to merger control clearances by the relevant competition authorities, the transaction is expected to be completed in the first quarter of next year, but will be backdated to 1 July 2015.
Vossloh’s supervisory board has already approved the transaction.
Vossloh executive board chairman Dr Hans Martin Schabert said: "We are convinced that the expertise, experience and business model of Rail Vehicles and Stadler will ideally complement one another. Rail Vehicles can look forward to the prospect of further development within the Stadler Group."
Based in Valencia, Rail Vehicles is one of three business units in the company’s transportation division that had been had been put up for sale last year.
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By GlobalDataRail Vehicles was declared as ‘discontinued operations’ in September.
Vossloh then said that the decision was taken ‘in the light of the ultimately accelerated course of talks with interested parties, it is very likely that an actual sale will take place within the next months’.
Involved in the development and production of new diesel-electric locomotives and light rail vehicles (LRVs), Rail Vehicles had reported sales of €182.4m in the first nine months of 2015 compared with €223.2m for the whole of last year.
The company noted that the management and all of Rail Vehicles’ proven functions will remain in Valencia, which Stadler intends to strengthen as a centre of competence for locomotive engineering.
Stadler Rail Group executive board deputy chairman Thomas Ahlburg said: "In the segment of diesel-electric locomotives, Rail Vehicles excels in competitive power and innovation force. Moreover, we can count on a highly experience and motivated management and engineering team."
Vossloh said it was going ahead with its medium-term strategy, which includes the divestment of its other two transportation businesses, Vossloh Electrical Systems and Vossloh Locomotives.
The two units generated revenues of €242.3m in the first nine months of this year, a 35.4% increase from the previous year.
The two units are expected to find a suitable buyer by the end of 2017.
Image: Vossloh Rail Vehicles manufactures light rail vehicles and diesel-electric locomotives. Photo: courtesy of Vossloh.
