Italian construction and engineering company Salcef Group has signed a preliminary agreement to acquire 100% of the share capital of Colmar Technik.

Colmar Technik, founded in 1963, designs and manufactures machinery for the construction and maintenance of railway lines at its facilities in Arquà Polesine and Costa di Rovigo, Italy.

The company also has offices in the US, the UK, Colombia, Russia, and China.

The agreement includes an Enterprise Value of approximately €25m, of which €2m has been paid at the time of signing the preliminary agreement.

The remaining payment will be made upon closing, expected by August 2023.

Salcef Group says it aims to expand the product range of its railway machinery business unit, both for internal use and the external market.

“We believe that the acquisition has a strong strategic rationale for the Group, not only because it is a further step in our external growth path but also because it is the first one in the railway machines segment, where the Group already operates through its subsidiary, SRT," said Gilberto Salciccia, executive chairman of Salcef Group.

"The integration of the newly acquired company will allow us to expand the product range of the railway machines business unit, both for internal use and for the third-party market, as well as to leverage the commercial synergies arising from Colmar Technik’s extensive international network with offices in the UK, US, Russia, China, and Colombia.”

Colmar Technik’s machines are supplied to and are operated at state-owned railway companies, and at private companies all over the world.

“The machines produced and offered by Colmar Technik, which are appreciated and certified by many railway operators worldwide, mainly include road/rail loaders, wheeled and tracked, and electric or diesel-powered shunters," said Lorenzo Peroni, SRT CEO and head of Salcef's railway machines business.

"They are perfectly complementary to SRT’s current product range, which focuses on railway wagon outfittings and rail grinders.”

Colmar Technik has approximately 110 employees and a backlog of over €40m worth of orders.

Salcef expects that the annual turnover once the acquisition is completed will be around €20m.