The European Commission has given the green light to the deal, valued at 1.66 billion euros, for the acquisition of the Ground Transportation Systems (GTS) business unit of French company Thales by Japanese firm Hitachi Rail, this is reported by the railway transport news portal Railway Supply.

The European Union has approved the merger of Thales GTS and Hitachi Rail

This decision came after approval by the British regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), in October 2023.

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Previously, both the European Commission and CMA expressed concerns about the level of competition in the railway automation markets in Germany, France, and the United Kingdom.

However, a compromise was reached when Hitachi Rail agreed to divest a portion of its business in the field of Automatic Train Control Systems (ATCS) for mainline railways in these countries.

Hitachi Rail’s rapid development in the ATCS market in Germany began as recently as the summer of 2023 with the launch of its first digital microprocessor-based centralization system.

Meanwhile, Thales GTS, along with Siemens, is one of the major suppliers in Germany.

The deal between Hitachi Rail and Thales is expected to close in the first half of 2024.

Photo: Thales

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