(AOF) – Thales has finalized the sale of its “Ground Transportation Systems” business to Hitachi Rail for an enterprise value of 1.66 billion euros. With nearly 9,000 employees, Ground Transportation Systems is a global leader in railway signaling and train control systems, telecommunications and supervision systems, and ticketing solutions. Thanks to this sale, Thales strengthens its strategic focus on 3 high-tech markets with long-term growth: Aeronautics & Space, Defense & Security, and Cybersecurity & Digital Identity.
The impact of the sale will be recognized in the second quarter of 2024.
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The end of a duopoly?
For several decades, the American Boeing and the European Airbus have shared 99% of the world market for airliners with more than 110 seats. This market is worth more than 100 billion dollars per year. However, this duopoly appears weakened in 2022 for several reasons. First, for the first time, two medium-haul single-aisle aircraft, the C919 from China’s Comac and the MC-21 from Russia’s Irkut, are preparing to enter service. Added to this is the Boeing 737 MAX crisis. With the cessation of deliveries of this aircraft between 2019 and 2021, the production balance has been disrupted. In 2021 Boeing posted 340 deliveries, with Airbus remaining well in the lead, with 611.