Wabtec to Buy Wheel Sensor Maker in $790 Million Deal
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Fresh off its $1.78 billion acquisition of an inspection technology firm, Wabtec Corp. said July 7 that it is buying Austrian wheel sensor maker Frauscher Sensor Technology Group GmbH.
The all-cash deal is valued at $790 million.
Wabtec, which makes locomotives and technology for freight and transit rail systems, also has another acquisition pending: a $960 million deal for Sweden-based Dellner Couplers, a company that makes connection systems for transit.
The wheel sensors and axle counters that Frauscher makes allow the company to collect information about when tracks are empty and available for use and when they are occupied, and which direction a train is headed. This data informs when crossings are closed to allow trains to pass and how operators can switch trains from track to track.
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Frauscher, which employs more than 600 people across 15 locations, according to its website, would be incorporated into Wabtec’s Digital Intelligence business.
Wabtec said in a statement that the deal “further advances its penetration into the high growth railway signaling market.”
“Given Frauscher’s significant presence in Europe and India, this acquisition will further strengthen our international growth strategy in these large markets,” Nalin Jain, president of Wabtec’s Digital Intelligence Group, said in a statement.
