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Wärtsilä gets smart with deal to buy Transas

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Frank Coles, ceo of Transas
Wärtsilä Corp is continuing to expand the deepth of its digital solutions acquiring marine navigation solutions provider Transas in a EUR210m ($258m) deal.

Wärtsilä said the move would speed up its Smart Marine Ecosystem vision and noted that Transas leverages the latest in machine learning and AI to create a unified cloud-based platform for managing operations across the entire marine ecosystem.

“Combining Transas with Wärtsilä will bring the Smart Marine Ecosystem many steps forward. We can now connect Wärtsilä’s product portfolio, the biggest in the Marine industry, with Ship Traffic Control, Simulators, Navigation solutions and fleet operation solutions from Transas,” said Roger Holm, president of Wärtsilä Marine Solutions

“The combined package will further improve the way a vessel can sail in the most cost efficient and environmental friendly way for our customers.” 

The Finnish company said the transaction was valued at EUR210m in enterprise value and expected to close in the second quarter.

UK-headquarter Transas has 22 regional offices, and distribution in 120 countries. The company's 1,000 staff will be integrated into Wärtsilä Marine Solutions. Transas annual net sales are around EUR140m.

The Transas team has significant competences in technology, along with a globally recognized leadership position in navigation, simulation and traffic control systems.  Adding these to the extensive, world leading Wärtsilä portfolio of services and products, provides an unparalleled opportunity for a new ecosystem for maritime operations,” said Frank Coles, ceo of Transas.

Coles has been an outspoken critic of how slow the shipping and maritime industries have been to adopt smart technologies.

Expansionist Wärtsilä has also been linked as a possible buyer of Rolls-Royce commercial marine business, which is potentially on the block, and something that the Finnish company did not deny in its annual results briefing earlier this year. Rolls-Royce has been making a strong push for autonomous shipping.