Titagarh Wagons acquires French wagon maker AFR for €15 million
12 Jul 2010
Titagarh Wagons Ltd will invest around 15 million euros to acquire the assets of French rail wagon maker IGF Industries-Arbel Fauvet Rail (AFR), in its first overseas acquisition.
"Titagarh Wagons Ltd (TWL) has won the bid for acquisition of the assets of IGF Industries - Arbel Fauvet Rail (AFR), a leading European rail wagon maker," a company filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) said.
"The company made the acquisition on 7 July, through the court process. This is the first ever overseas acquisition by TWL and first of its kind in this sector," the filing said.
AFR is located in Douai, in northern France, considered a hub of Europe's railway industry. The company undertakes design, engineering and manufacture of tank cars, containers, bogies and wagons.
The acquisition will lift TWL's wagon manufacturing capacity by an additional 5,000 wagons per year, besides giving access to the French company's proprietary technology and potential to tap the market for renewal of European rolling stock due in the near future, the company said.
"This acquisition is expected to have positive implications for our cost, technology and management competitiveness as we evolve from an Indian to a global player. This will help us in tapping not only the European market but global market as well. AFR has large number of patented designs of specialised wagons, which will help the group to gain a leadership position in India," JP Chowdhary, chairman of Titagarh Wagons, said.
