A cross-border team from Squire Patton Boggs has acted for Lloyd’s Register Group on the sale of the whole of the issued share capital of Lloyd's Register Rail Limited and Lloyd's Register Rail Europe B.V., together with various other assets relating to Lloyd’s Register Group’s international rail business, to Ricardo plc. Ricardo has signed a Share and Asset Purchase Agreement to acquire the business, operating assets and employees engaged in the businesses of Lloyd’s Register Rail, for a total cash consideration of £42.5 million. The sale is expected to complete on or before 1 July 2015.
Lloyd’s Register Rail is a rail consultancy and assurance business that advises a large number of international clients with a team of rail engineers and specialists located at offices across the UK, continental Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Its technical services range from rolling stock design to signaling and train control systems and also include independent assurance and accreditation. Ricardo plc is a global engineering and environmental consultancy, which has a strategic focus on the rail sector to build an expanded range of rail services.
The Squire Patton Boggs team, led by London Corporate partner Claire Scott-Priestley, advised Lloyd’s Register Group on the complex, multi-jurisdictional divestment. Involved in the global transaction on behalf of Lloyd’s Register Group were lawyers from Squire Patton Boggs’ Corporate, Labour & Employment, Tax Strategy and Intellectual Property & Technology practices in offices in the UK, China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Spain, France, Qatar, UAE, and Saudi Arabia, as well as external counsel in Denmark, the Netherlands and Taiwan.