French transport giant Alstom has signed an agreement for the acquisition of Newcastle-based train wi-fi pioneer Nomad Digital from Amadeus Capital Partners, SEB Venture Capital and Deutsche Telekom Strategic Investments.

Nomad employs about 230 people and is headquartered in Newcastle with 13 offices worldwide — in the UK, Netherlands, Germany, Portugal, Canada, Australia and the United States.

In the UK, Nomad’s passenger WiFi services are deployed on 75% of all WiFi connected trains.

Nomad CEO Andrew Taylor said: “Alstom’s acquisition of Nomad is fabulous news for our staff, our customers and our partners around the world.

“The Nomad team is joining a truly great company with a common culture of innovation, and values-based approach to doing business in the rail sector.

“From day one we will have a joined-up strategy and vision around the realisation of the ‘Digital Train’.

“We look forward in the weeks and months ahead to strengthening our capabilities in this domain, and ensuring that we maintain our focus on delivering innovative solutions and services to both our current and new customers around the world.”

Amadeus Capital Partners CEO Anne Glover said: “Amadeus Capital Partners first invested in Nomad Digital in 2006 as we foresaw the increasing demand from rail passengers for better internet connectivity during journeys.

“We are delighted that a major rail company has recognised the value of Nomad’s visionary strategy, which has expanded to the fully ‘connected train’, and the global footprint they have achieved.”

Nomad Digital provides products and services — directly or indirectly — to more than 80 global customer including train builders such as Alstom, Bombardier and Hitachi, and leading train operating companies, such as ÖBB, Amtrak, Via Rail, Eurostar, GWR, NS, NSB, PKP, Queensland Rail and Virgin.

Nomad said its technology is used by 1.7 billion passengers annually.