SNCF and RATP announced on Monday that they had entered into exclusive negotiations for the sale of a majority stake in Systra, a railway engineering company with 11,000 employees worldwide.
The two public groups, which each hold 43.4% of the shares, “have entered into exclusive negotiations with Latour Capital and Fimalac”, the investment company of Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière, “with a view to acquiring a majority stake” in Systra, they indicate in a joint press release.
Presented as the world number 3 in the sector, Systra “participated in the design of half of the metro lines and half of the high-speed lines in the world” and achieved in 2023 a turnover of “approximately 1.1 billion euros,” indicate RATP and SNCF. Latour Capital and Fimalac intend to acquire a total of 58% of the capital of Systra, including a portion of shares held by the group.
SNCF and RATP “will remain active in Systra’s strategy by each retaining a 20% stake,” specify the two groups, which have not communicated any amount for the transaction. The operation should allow Systra to “finance its development and guarantee its strategic independence”, underlined Jean Castex, CEO of RATP, quoted in the press release. The objective: “to become the undisputed world leader in rail engineering” with “2 billion euros in turnover in 2030”, according to Jean-François Beaudoin, senior partner at Latour Capital. The potential sale “must still be presented to the social partners” and will be subject “to a certain number of prior regulatory authorizations”, specifies the press release.
Systra is accused by the courts in the derailment of the East European LGV test train, which caused the death of eleven people in November 2015 in Alsace. The engineering company, in charge of the tests, denied any responsibility for the accident, insisting at the Paris Criminal Court on April 23 that it had “fulfilled all obligations”.