Baker McKenzie has advised Knorr-Bremse on the acquisition of duagon Group (“duagon”), a leading provider of railway electronics in the rail sector. Knorr-Bremse and the previous owner, Deutsche Beteiligungs AG (DBAG), have signed a corresponding purchase agreement. The purchase price is approximately EUR 500 million plus a potential earn-out if predefined targets are achieved. The closing is subject to customary regulatory approvals.
Jakub Lorys, Corporate/M&A partner in Munich, who was in charge of the transaction, said: “This transaction is an important step for our client in strengthening its rail business and expanding its technological expertise in the important future fields of electronics and signaling technology for the railway industry.”
Knorr-Bremse is a leading global manufacturer of braking systems and supplier of other subsystems for rail and commercial vehicles. Knorr-Bremse’s products make a significant contribution to greater safety and energy efficiency on railways and roads throughout the world. More than 32,000 employees at over 100 locations in 30 countries develop and produce innovative solutions and services that meet the highest technological standards. In 2024, Knorr-Bremse generated global sales of around EUR 7.9 billion in its two divisions.
Founded in 1995 and headquartered in Dietikon, Switzerland, duagon employs around 750 people in eight countries. In 2026, Knorr-Bremse expects duagon to generate sales of around EUR 175 million and an operating EBIT margin of around 16% (excluding integration costs), which could be further increased through sales growth and cost potential in the coming years. duagon’s customers include vehicle manufacturers, system integrators and infrastructure companies from the rail industry.
Baker McKenzie’s Corporate/M&A Practice regularly advises on national and international transactions. Most recently, Baker McKenzie advised the following companies, among others: Cheyne Capital on the refinancing of Kaffee Partner; JD.com on the acquisition of Ceconomy; VINCI Energies on the acquisition of R + S Group and the acquisition of Zimmer & Hälbig Group; Bristol Myers Squibb on the transfer of Juno Therapeutics to TQ Therapeutics; Sunoco on the acquisition of TanQuid Group; Georg Fischer on the acquisition of VAG Group, AURELIUS on the acquisition of Teijin Automotive Technologies, Centric Software on the acquisition of Contentserv Group; Fagron Group on the acquisition of Euro OTC & Audor Pharma GmbH; Berlin Packaging, a portfolio company of Oak Hill Capital Partners and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, on the acquisition of RIXIUS AG; Instalco on the investment in FABRI AG; and AURELIUS on the acquisition of the Savoury Division of What’s Cooking.
Legal adviser to Knorr-Bremse:
Baker McKenzie
Lead:
Corporate/M&A: Dr. Jakub Lorys (partner, Munich), Dr. Alexander Blaeser (partner, Zurich)
Team:
Corporate/M&A: Eva Kriechbaumer (counsel, Munich), Anna Giulia Klaas (associate, Munich), Erik Kuhn (associate, Munich)
Antitrust and Competition: Dr. Nicolas Kredel (partner, Düsseldorf), Jan Kresken (partner, Düsseldorf), Dr. Florian Kotman (counsel, Düsseldorf), Dr. Lukas Greiner (associate, Düsseldorf)
Trade Compliance: Anahita Thoms (partner, Berlin), Frederik Alexander Dörr (associate, Berlin), Valerie Louise Datzer (associate, Berlin),
Tax: Thomas Gierath (partner, Munich), Susanne Liebel-Kotz (partner, Zurich), Tim Edelhoff (associate, Munich)
Banking & Finance: Matthias Töke (partner, Frankfurt), Saskia Ilzhoefer (associate, Frankfurt)
Commercial & Trade: Katharina Spenner (partner, Munich) Brigitte Leimgruber (associate, Munich), Hannah Mack (associate, Munich)
Real Estate: Dr. Daniel Bork (partner, Düsseldorf), Moritz Jander (associate, Düsseldorf)
Employment/Pension: Katja Häferer (partner, Frankfurt), Dr. Felix Diehl (partner, Frankfurt), Dr. Sebastian Pfrang (associate, Frankfurt), Annika Kissener (associate, Frankfurt), Jan Kammler (associate, Frankfurt)
IP/IT: Patrick Wilkening (partner, Düsseldorf), Dr. Michaela Nebel (partner, Frankfurt), Anela Winzig (associate, Frankfurt), Yannick Filoda (associate, Düsseldorf), Aileen-Sophie Zengler (associate, Frankfurt)
Public Law: Dr. Katharina Weiner (partner, Düsseldorf), Stefanie Zenzen (associate, Düsseldorf)
Insurance: Dr. Peter Stankewitsch (counsel, Frankfurt)
Switzerland: Roger Thomi (partner, Zurich), Christoph Stutz (partner, Zurich), Hesam Mirzai (associate, Zurich), Christophe Reitze (associate, Zurich), Felix Maier (associate, Zurich), Anna Zellweger (associate, Zurich), Andreas Becker (associate, Zurich)
France: Michael Doumet (partner, Paris), Guillaume Nataf (partner, Paris), Marc Mariani (partner, Paris), Olivier Vasset (partner, Paris), Michaël Koubi (associate, Paris), Vanessa Chaillan (associate, Paris), Mehdi Achachera (associate, Paris), Marlene Bourguignon (associate, Paris), Guillaume Ferrandon (associate, Paris), Jure Victoire (associate, Paris), Roland Sebe (associate, Paris)
Spain: Enrique Valera (partner, Madrid), Guillermo Rodrigo (partner, Madrid), Jose Prieto (partner, Madrid), Lois Caeiro (associate, Madrid), Santiago Alé Pozo (associate, Madrid), Alejandro Francone (associate, Madrid), Lucia Garcia-Ovies (associate, Madrid), Carmen Gomeza (associate, Madrid), Carolina Palomar (associate, Madrid)
US: Airi Hammalov (partner, New York), Sylwia Lis (partner, Washington, DC), Sarah Winston (partner, Chicago), Christopher Guldberg (partner, Chicago), Sofia Chesnokova (partner, San Francisco), Jessica Mitchell Wicha (counsel, Chicago), Lewis Assness (associate, New York), Caroline Bergsma (associate, Los Angeles), Alexandra Kumar (associate, Washington, DC), Richard Yang (associate, Palo Alto), Ashley Calcagno (associate, Washington, DC), Yanshu Zhang (associate, New York)