Balfour Beatty has agreed to sell rail-infrastructure data-analysis business Omnicom to Hitachi Rail.
The value of the sale, which will see more than 100 staff switch employers, is not being disclosed.
A Balfour Beatty statement on Friday (17 January) said the acquisition would help the business expand beyond the UK into the US and European markets.
Balfour Beatty’s UK rail business will continue to focus on its core capability of managing, enhancing and maintaining railways and rail infrastructure across the UK, it added.
Derby-based Omnicom develops AI-enabled technology to capture rail data for clients including Network Rail and Transport for London to monitor assets including the London Underground (pictured).
Balfour Beatty UK’s rail business managing director, Mick Rayner, said: “In order to capitalise on its unique technological solutions to the rail market, Omnicom requires an owner with a truly global reach and a complementary culture.
“Hitachi’s acquisition will further enable Omnicom to leverage its capabilities and apply its expertise in the rail and digital technology sectors in both the US and European markets.”
Omnicom was founded as Omnicom Engineering in York in 1995. Balfour Beatty agreed a deal to acquire the business in 2016 and rebranded it in 2019.
Omnicom managing director Sanjay Razdan said the acquisition would strengthen the company’s “ability to collaborate, innovate and deliver AI-enabled systems and services”.
Hitachi Rail chief executive Giuseppe Marino added: “Plugging Omnicom’s pioneering track monitoring tools into our digital asset management platform will further strengthen our global offer to optimise customers’ rail services and the surrounding infrastructure.”
