Thales will sell its signaling subsidiary to Hitachi and leaves CAF out

Thales has closed the first phase of the sale of its railway business to Hitachi, leaving CAF, the other major interested party, out of the operation. This was announced early this Wednesday morning by the French company, which gives it a company value of 1,660 million euros.

Thales had put up a ‘for sale’ sign on its signage business earlier this year, in a strategic move to streamline its expanding operations. Among the three selected for the final phase, in addition to Hitachi, there were also the Spanish CAF and Stadler.

With more than 9,000 employees dedicated to Thales’ ground transportation activities around the world, this business unit to be owned by Hitachi is a global leader in road signaling and train control systems, telecommunications and monitoring systems, and ticket collection, key technologies for more sustainable mobility. Around 8 billion passengers benefit from Thales rail technologies each year.

With the operation, vertical integration will take place in the sector, uniting the rolling stock of the Japanese company with the signaling division of the gala. The objective is that the closing of the operation takes place at the end of 2022 or the beginning of 2023. The company must now receive the approval of the regulatory authorities and the representatives of the workers.

“With this important strategic move, we will be able to focus on developing our 3 long-term high-tech businesses, each capable of delivering double-digit margins on a sustainable basis: Aerospace, Defense & Security, and Digital Identity & Security: Strengthening further its class-leading market position,” says Patrice Caine, Chairman and CEO of Thales.

“Today’s announcement marks a tremendous opportunity for the Hitachi Rail teams and Thales’ Ground Transportation Systems business to create new value for our customers, cities and passengers around the world. We will not only increase the reach of our capabilities signaling systems as part of our turnkey offering, but we will also be bringing our digital and MaaS capabilities together,” admits Andrew Barr, CEO of Hitachi Rail.