SWITZERLAND: Knorr-Bremse has completed its acquisition of railway embedded electronics, hardware and software supplier Duagon Group from private equity investor Deutsche Beteiligungs following the receipt of regulatory approvals.
The transaction ‘will strengthen our future positioning from both a technological and a financial perspective’, said Knorr-Bremse CEO Marc Llistosella on January 7. ‘In particular, it will allow us to tap into significant business opportunities for fast-growing, high-margin product lines for trains and rail infrastructure.’
The acquisition was first announced on September 25, when Knorr-Bremse said it had an ‘attractive’ purchase price of around €500m plus a potential performance bonus based on predefined results.
Following completion, Knorr-Bremse executive board member for the Rail Division Dr Nicolas Lange said Duagon ‘is a perfect match’ and would ‘open up opportunities for considerable growth, particularly in our lines of business involving communication and control solutions for rail transport (Selectron) and rail signalling technology (KB Signaling). All in all, it will allow us to reinforce our position as a leading Tier 1 partner for the overall system of rail transport.’
Knorr-Bremse said it expected to sustain Duagon’s compound annual growth rate of around 15% achieved in 2022-25, and expected Duagon to generate an operating EBIT margin of around 16% excluding integration costs in 2026, with further increases in the coming years through significant revenue growth and potential cost savings.
