Lewis Silkin advises Systra Group on its acquisition of SIAS Ltd

For the second time in a few months, following the acquisition by the French group of JMP Consultants in December 2015, Lewis Silkin’s French Desk advised long-standing client Systra Group, the world leader for public transport infrastructure, on its acquisition of the British company SIAS Ltd.

Established in 1974, SIAS is a leading transport planning consultancy focusing on public sector clients. It operates primarily in Scotland, from two offices in Edinburgh (HQ) and Perth. SIAS's consultancy projects generally relate to traffic impact studies and road scheme design for Transport Planning (policy and strategy development, sustainable travel planning, transportation modelling) and Planning Support (rural development advice, urban regeneration, new retail, industrial or residential developments and special events operations).

Systra is a subsidiary of RATP and SNCF and has worked in the Mass Transit and Rail market since 1957. The Group's ambition is to serve the new needs for collective, sustainable mobility, all over the world. With revenues of circa 550 million Euros in 2015, the company employs more than 5,000 people worldwide. It is currently working on over 3,500 projects and has assisted in building half of the world’s metro systems.

As happened with Systra’s previous acquisition, the bilingual and bi-national team at Lewis Silkin’s French Desk worked hand in hand with the Franco-British M&A team of Systra Group. The French Desk team was led by corporate tax partner Matthew Rowbotham.

Systra was also advised by Frenger Corporate Finance and PWC.

For further information please contact:

Siobhan Moriarty
Tel: 020 7074 8365
Email: siobhan.moriarty@lewissilkin.com