'With the acquisition of Thales Gts the Hitachi site in Genoa becomes central'
Group CEO, Giuseppe Marino, speaks: 'Already today the Ligurian office is beginning a journey to become part of a global network'.
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Big manoeuvres in the global railway industry. Hitachi Rail, one of the world's leading manufacturers of railway vehicles (including the Frecciarossa 1000 for Trenitalia), announces the acquisition for EUR 1.66 billion of Thales Gts (Ground Transportation System), the railway signalling division of the Thales Group, a company listed on the Paris Stock Exchange. 93% of the investment is financed through equity and the remaining 7% through a shareholder loan. With this transaction, the Japanese multinational, which has strong industrial roots in Italy, expands its global presence to 51 countries, with the majority of revenues now coming from signalling activities, which are more profitable. With the entry of Thales Gts, Hitachi Rail's turnover suddenly rises from EUR 5.2 billion to EUR 7.3 billion. The acquisition involves 54 companies and 9 thousand people, including 6 thousand engineers, who join the Hitachi Rail group, bringing the total number of employees to 24 thousand worldwide, including Italy. The closing, announced in the evening of Friday 31 May, took place with Group CEO Giuseppe Marino at the helm. And, in the same hours as the closing, Marino was appointed Cavaliere del Lavoro (Knight of Labour) by the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella.
Engineer Marino, what is the strategic significance of this operation?
The main feature is the complementarity of markets and products between Hitachi and Gts. A feature that will also offer important development opportunities for the Hitachi group's Italian operations. Through the acquisition, Hitachi Rail's global reach will grow, facilitating the group's entry into new key markets. Hitachi Rail's main offices in Japan, Italy, the UK and the US are strategically complementary to Gts's most important locations in Germany, France, Spain and Canada.
What role will Italy play in this scenario?
As far as signalling is concerned, in the front row is the Genoa site, which is Hitachi Rail's nerve centre for railway signalling, employing over 550 people. Genoa will play a central role in the integration process. Looking ahead, the Ligurian site will be an internationally relevant hub for the development of the group's digital activities. This will allow Italy to play a leading role in this segment and in the integration of Gts's high-tech services. Already today, the Ligurian site is beginning a path of insertion into a global network, which sees it cooperating permanently with our American Hitachi Digital site in Santa Clara, Silicon Valley (California).
