Ricardo has announced the acquisition of consultants Lloyds Register Rail (LR Rail) for £42.5 million as the company looks to establish a global rail business.
Following the completion of the Share and Asset Purchase Agreement, LR Rail will sit at the centre of a new international rail business, Ricardo Rail.
Paul Seller, Lloyd’s Register’s current transportation director, will become managing director of Ricardo Rail. The deal will also see the transfer of 440 LR Rail engineers.
“We have an excellent team and a strong reputation in the industry, and I believe that in Ricardo, we have an ideal new owner which shares our strategic vision to create a truly global rail business,” said Paul Seller.
He added: “Ricardo has a highly respected and long established brand and shares our ethos of independence, engineering excellence, safety and quality.
“With its strong reputation in locomotive and multiple unit powertrain and driveline systems – from research and concept development through to series manufacture of specialist rail products – it provides an excellent complementary fit with LR Rail’s own areas of expertise.”
