Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) has advised Railways Pension Trustee Company Limited (“Railpen”) on its acquisition of a 25% interest in Verdis, the leading Nordic municipal waste collection operator, from Cube Infrastructure Managers (“Cube”).
The investment in Verdis is Railpen’s first direct infrastructure investment in the Nordics and in the municipal waste collection sector. It reflects Railpen’s continued commitment to investing in essential infrastructure within established and growing sectors, both in the UK and other developed markets.
The transaction concludes Cube’s largest co-investment program to date, following earlier co-investments into the Verdis platform by two of Cube’s existing investors. Railpen invested directly in Verdis while two LPs invested via Cube-managed co-investment vehicles.
Railpen is one of the UK’s largest pension managers and is entrusted with the safekeeping and investment of around £35 billion AuM on behalf of the railways pension schemes’ 350,000 members, representing more than 150 rail companies.
Acquired by Cube in November 2023, Verdis is an essential infrastructure service provider delivering municipal waste collection services to more than six million people in approximately 100 municipalities across Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland.
Cube is an independent mid-market infrastructure investor founded in 2007.
The WFW Corporate team advising Railpen was led by Partner Jan Mellmann, supported by Partner Andy Savage, Counsel Nerina Erasmus, Associate Idil Yusuf and Trainee Matt Buxton. Competition/FDI advice was provided by Partner Solange Leandro, supported by Associate Lauren Buchan. WFW was assisted by Ogier (Luxembourg), Gorrissen Federspiel (Denmark), Krogerus (Finland), BAHR (Norway) and Hammarskiöld (Sweden).
Jan commented: “We are delighted to have advised Railpen on this significant infrastructure transaction which marks a major investment for Railpen in the Nordic infrastructure market. The transaction showcases the strength of our M&A practice and our experience in the energy and infrastructure sectors”.
