Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) has advised independent European investment company RIVE Private Investment (“RIVE”) on a €300m acquisition financing of innovative locomotives. This major bank financing enables RIVE and its long-time partner and asset manager Northrail to grow their rail sector business and activity.
The facility was provided by a consortium of banks comprising KfW IPEX-Bank, Crédit Agricole CIB, Société Générale, and Siemens Financial Services through Siemens Bank. Additional incremental facilities of up to €225m may be added to this amount.
This financing will initially support an existing order of (i) 15 Vectron dual-mode locomotives manufactured by Siemens Mobility which operate alternatively in both electric or diesel modes and the acquisition of (ii) 20 Traxx MS3 locomotives manufactured by Alstom (the first of their type to be approved in France and able to operate in six European countries including Germany, Poland and France) and (iii) 20 Modula EBB hybrid locomotives manufactured by Vossloh. Upon delivery between 2024 and 2026, the locomotives will be leased to European operators and managed on behalf of RIVE by Northrail.
RIVE Private Investment is an independent European investment firm specialising in transportation assets and energy transition infrastructure. RIVE targets small and mid-market businesses and combines both financial and sector expertise. Founded in 2013 and with offices in Paris, Luxembourg and Geneva, RIVE has financed more than €2.3bn of assets in over 100 transactions in 15+ countries.
Headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, Northrail is a leading leasing provider and asset manager of rolling stock across Europe. Northrail manages a portfolio of 445 locomotives, multiple unit trains and passenger coaches for freight and passenger transport in Europe with an investment volume of more than €1.4bn.
The WFW Paris Finance team that acted as RIVE’s French legal counsel was led by Partner Alexia Russell, assisted by Associates Hugues Hounkpati and Vincent Cossavella.
