Skift Take
Sqills has won more contracts from railway operators to upgrade their inventory, booking, and ticketing software than any other tech vendor in recent years. So this acquisition makes sense.
Siemens Mobility said on Thursday it had signed a deal to acquire Sqills, a Netherlands-based rail software company, for $650 million (€550 million). The deal highlights an amplified interest in intercity rail worldwide as the impacts of climate change become more apparent and a new wave of technologies become available.
Sqills is a seller of cloud-based inventory management, reservation, and ticketing software for rail transport operators worldwide. Founded in 2002, it hasn't raised outside investment.
For years, Siemens' HaCon unit and Sqills have competed against other vendors, such as Amadeus, IBM, and SilverRail, to offer operational tools to railway companies. But Sqills enjoyed a streak of business wins in Europe b