SAINT-OUEN-SUR-SEINE, France — Alstom has completed the sale of its North American signal business to German’s Knorr-Bremse, the French firm announced Monday, Sept. 2.
The sale, for approximately $690 million, had been announced in April [see “Alstom sells North American signal business …,” Trains News Wire, April 19, 2024]. It covers the conventional portion of the company’s operations in the U.S. signal market. Alstom said in a press release that it will continue to be involved in communications-based train control and European train control systems, among other technologies.
The sale is part of Alstom’s plan to divest itself of some €2 billion in assets to address cash-flow issues, many of which stem from the 2021 acquisition of Bombardier.
Knorr-Bremse CEO Marc Llistosella said in a press release that the new acquisition “is both market-leading and high-margin,” and called it an example of the company’s “drive to create even greater value as we further develop our portfolio by entering new, highly promising areas of business. The acquisition also contributes to another strategic objective: to further enhance the Rail side of Knorr-Bremse’s business activities.”
Unless previously divested already by Alstom, I believe this transaction also includes all the legacy technology of General Railway Signal, aka GRS