AUCTUS invests in Comesvil S.p.A. as a first step towards building a leading European railroad and metro infrastructure group.
AUCTUS invests in Comesvil S.p.A.
The transaction
AUCTUS Capital Partners is pleased to announce the acquisition of Comesvil S.p.A.. This is the first step in building a major group specializing in services and products in the fields of signalling, telecommunications and electrical systems for railroad, metro and road infrastructure.
Comesvil S.p.A. is one of Italy’s leading providers of installation and maintenance services and technical solutions for signaling and telecommunications systems for railroad and metro infrastructures. The company is a partner of railroad and metro infrastructure operators and works internationally with the biggest players in the industry, such as Hitachi and Alstom. With an expected turnover of around 40 million euros in 2023, Comesvil is one of the most important players in this sector in Italy. The company has sites in Italy, Denmark and the Middle East (UAE and Saudi Arabia), but also has the expertise and capability to deliver major infrastructure projects worldwide (as demonstrated by its track record in major projects around the world, e.g. in Greece, India, Peru and Taiwan).
The acquisition of Comesvil is AUCTUS’ 30th transaction in Italy since 2007 and brings the total number of Italian platform companies in our portfolio to 6.
AUCTUS’ strategy in the rail and metro infrastructure market
After extensive research in the European mobility industry, AUCTUS is convinced that there is great potential for the development of a pan-European group capable of providing high quality engineering services, installation services and technological products for rail, metro and road infrastructures.
The European rail and metro market is dominated by a handful of international players who can supply a full range of products and services for European transportation infrastructure as general contractors. However, it is also characterized by numerous small and medium-sized companies (often family-owned) that focus on delivering a limited range of services and products to a high standard via these large general contractors. The ongoing standardization of rail safety protocols across Europe, in particular the introduction of ERTMS (European Rail Traffic Management System), represents a major change in the industry and offers unique opportunities. AUCTUS now sees the potential to bundle these small and medium-sized national excellences and thus open the door to cross-border synergies between the Group’s companies.
What we are looking for
The Group will focus primarily on Europe, but we are open to international expansion if we find the right companies. Our goal is to establish a group of companies that specialize in:
- Manufacture of signaling, telecommunications and electrification componentsand systems for railroad, metro, streetcar and road infrastructures
- Provision of engineering and installation services for signaling, telecommunications and electrification systems for railroad, metro, streetcar and road transport infrastructure.
Our first target markets include the DACH region, France, Italy, Spain, Denmark and the Eastern European countries.
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About Auctus
With over 420 investments in the last 23 years, AUCTUS is the most active investment company for European SMEs. Our investments focus on majority shareholdings in companies with annual sales of between EUR 10 million and EUR 150 million.
AUCTUS stands for sustainable organic growth, but also inorganic growth through acquisitions. We achieve this in a trusting partnership together with the management of our companies. We specialize in building successful medium-sized groups of companies - we make market leaders. The more than 35 experienced AUCTUS investment experts currently manage 50 platform investments from various sectors of the economy. The platform holdings, with a total of over 200 individual companies, generate annual sales of € 3 billion. Sales and earnings have been growing at >10% per year for years.
Our successful work is regularly rewarded with prestigious awards and top international rankings.