FS Italiane has acquired full ownership of Trainose, Greece’s leading railway operator, for EUR 45 million . The transaction was closed during the Italy-Greece bilateral summit, on September 14, following the required procedures and authorisations and on the approval of the European Union after examining the terms of the entire operation.
The preliminary agreement between the two parties was signed in January 2017.
“This closing is another important step of the international growth of the FS Group, as anticipated in the 2017-2026 Business Plan. The acquisition of Trainose is an opportunity of growth and development for the Greek railways, which from now on can rely on the know-how and experience of the FS Italiane Group”, emphasised Renato Mazzoncini, CEO and Managing Director of FS Italiane. “We are evolving into a major European mobility player and we are already one of the leading operators in the rail, passenger and freight market as well as in local public transport. We are first in Italy and Greece, second in Germany, and we also operate with subsidiaries in Great Britain, France and the Netherlands. The Group’s international activities,” concluded Mazzoncini, “currently account for approximately 15% of revenues, rising to about 17% if considered on an annual basis. Our goal is to see international turnover growing from one billion to four billion by 2026.”
Mazzoncini also said that FS Group plans to invest EUR 500 million for the purchse of new rolling stock in a bid to upgrade Trainose’s services and improve operations.
Trainose is the leading rail operator in Greece and provides freight and passenger services at a suburban, regional, national and international level, including logistics services.
In 2016 it carried 15.6 million people, of which 10.1 million in the suburban and 5.5 million in the regional area, and 1.1 million tons of goods, with revenues of approximately EUR 120 million and a profit of EUR 3.3 million: the company has achieved financial equilibrium since 2013. Trainose has 672 employees, around 1,160 locomotives and trains in leasing, and runs a total of around 350 trains per day between passengers and freight. The main line on which it operates daily is Athens – Thessaloniki. Moreover, there is significant potential for the development of freight traffic from Greek ports to Central Europe.
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