Colas Rail signed on August 9, 2022, a share purchase agreement to acquire Hasselmann Group based in Thuringia, Germany, and specialising in the construction of rail infrastructure. The acquisition is expected to close during the fourth quarter 2022, subject to the approval by the relevant antitrust authority.
The family-owned business includes three operative companies including Hasselmann specializing in rail infrastructure, NTG GmbH, with activities on rail track and LGM Logistik GmbH covering the rail safety area. To date, the Hasselmann Group boasts nearly 300 employees and posted EUR 70 million in revenue for 2021.
The three companies are carrying out works and activities on conventional lines in central Germany, Hesse to Saxony, mainly for Deutsche Bahn.
“Our aim is to increasingly contribute our competence and experience for the further modernisation and development of the German and European rail infrastructure and we are now looking forward to taking on this exciting challenge as part of the Colas Group or Colas Rail,” Peter Krauß, Managing Director of Hasselmann GmbH said.
The acquisition will enable Colas Rail to gain a foothold in the German market, thus confirming an external growth strategy targeting countries with stable economies and high investment potential in rail infrastructure.
“This acquisition illustrates our growth strategy across the G20. Once the Hasselmann Group has been integrated into the Colas Rail family, we intend to expand throughout Germany,” Hervé Le Joliff, CEO of Colas Rail said.
Colas Rail sees German rail market as a strategic challenge and a bit step for its international growth. In 2020, Deutsche Bahn invested more than EUR 10 billion in rail infrastructure while urban transport solutions account for annual investments of more than EUR 2 billion. The German government has decided to invest an additional EUR 86 billion over 10 years to renew the national network, the second largest in the world with more than 61,000 km of track, the objective being to improve passenger comfort. The annual growth of the railway works market is estimated at 4.5% per year over the period.
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