A Derby rail design and engineering consultancy has been taken over by a Swedish-owned company.
Dg8 Design and Engineering, based at The College Business Centre, in Uttoxeter New Road, has been bought by Icomera UK, a subsidiary of Gothenburg-based Icomera AB, for an undisclosed sum.
Dg8 works principally with global clients in the rail transport sector and its team has extensive experience of the rail vehicle market, working with all tiers of the supply chain.
Icomera AB, which provides wireless internet connectivity for public transport, is itself a wholly-owned subsidiary of ENGIE Ineo, a creator of solutions for urban areas and neighbourhoods, which is headquartered in France and has more than 15,000 employees across a network of 300 facilities worldwide.
Dave Palmer, managing director at Icomera UK, said: “The acquisition of Dg8 strengthens Icomera’s ability to deliver the truly interconnected eco-systems of onboard systems and services required for fully realising the potential of the connected vehicle for passengers and operators.
“Icomera and Dg8 have successfully collaborated on many projects previously and now the closer integration of the teams makes us even stronger digital partners for our clients.”
The deal was overseen by corporate advisory firm Springboard Corporate Finance.
Justin Sparks, a partner at Springboard who advised on the sale, said: “It was a pleasure to support the team at Dg8 to help them realise the benefits of their hard work over the years.
“Dg8 is a truly global player and we are delighted to help secure the sale to a strategic overseas buyer.”
Mark Hoptroff, director at Dg8, said: “Springboard joined the project at a critical stage and turned the deal around to ensure that all of our hard work didn’t go to waste.
“Both sides of the transaction commented that without Springboard’s involvement we wouldn’t have got the deal over the line and their support was excellent.”
