ACS to acquire Ascom's transportation revenue division

Affiliated Computer Services Inc. will acquire the transport revenue division of Ascom AG for roughly $100 million, the company announced this month. ACS plans to fund the acquisition through its existing credit.

The acquisition takes Dallas-based ACS into the international transportation services industry, and expands its U.S. portfolio in the transit and parking payment markets, company officials said.

The transport revenue division of Bern, Switzerland-based Ascom manages more than 1,000 transit payment solutions for rail, bus, tram and subway operators; more than 1,000 parking systems for airports, municipal authorities, hospitals and parking lots; and more than 600 highway lanes equipped for toll collection in the United States.

The division, which has customers in about 30 countries, generated sales of roughly $180 million in the past 12 months.

Through the acquisition, ACS will pick up 800 employees from the United States and other countries in Asia, Europe and Latin America. The transport revenue group will be led by its current managing director, Riet Cadonau, and will be integrated into ACS' Transportation Solutions unit headed by Michael Huerta.

ACS, a provider of business process and IT outsourcing services, has more than 50,000 employees and had annual sales of $4.3 billion in fiscal 2005. The company ranked No. 51 on Washington Technology's 2005 Top 100 list, which measures federal contracting revenue.