DIF Capital Partners is pleased to announce that it has signed a sale and lease back agreement regarding the acquisition of 29 new-build and electrical multiple-unit trains with DB Regio AG, a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn AG. The investment will be made through DIF Infrastructure VI fund. MEAG acted as exclusive arranger for the senior debt financing.
DB Regio will sell 29 multiple-unit trains (Coradia Stream HC series), manufactured by Alstom Transport Deutschland, to DIF and lease them via an initial 15-year term to operate the “Kinzigtal” concession. This will connect the German cities Frankfurt am Main, Hanau, Fulda, Bebra as well as Wächtersbach.
Gijs Voskuyl, Partner and Head of Investments for the DIF VI strategy : “DIF is pleased to partner with Deutsche Bahn and our project lender MEAG on this project. Our investment is a component of a wider plan to extend and modernise the public transport services around Frankfurt. The aim is to make it more attractive, by contributing to the customer satisfaction as well as to increase sustainability of – especially – commuter transport from the suburbs to the city center.”
Benjamin Hemming, Head of Infrastructure Debt at MEAG, adds: “We are very pleased to make an important contribution to the modernisation of public transport in Germany with our exclusive debt arrangement for the Kinzigtal network. The new trains which will operate on the line will not only make commuting by train more convenient, but will also contribute to reducing emissions. With this innovative private placement we enable our institutional clients to participate in a long-term and sustainable financing at attractive terms.”
DIF was advised by Herbert Smith Freehills (legal), railistics (technical and commercial), Mazars (model audit and tax), ReedSmith and Loyens & Loeff (tax), Euro transaction Solutions (insurance) and Northrail (transaction structuring as well as long term asset management provider).
(Picture: © Alstom Advanced Design & Styling)
About DIF Capital Partners
DIF Capital Partners is a leading global independent investment manager, with ca. EUR 14 billion in assets under management across eleven closed-end infrastructure funds and several co-investment vehicles. DIF invests in infrastructure companies and assets located primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Australia through two complementary strategies:
- Traditional DIF funds, of which DIF Infrastructure VII is the latest vintage, target core infrastructure equity investments with long-term contracted or regulated income streams including public-private partnerships, concessions, utilities, and energy transition projects (incl. renewable energy).
- DIF CIF funds, of which DIF CIF III is the latest vintage, target equity investments in small to mid-sized core-plus infrastructure companies in the telecom, energy transition, and transportation sectors.
DIF Capital Partners has a team of over 200 professionals, based in eleven offices located in Amsterdam (Schiphol), Frankfurt, Helsinki, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, New York, Paris, Santiago, Sydney, and Toronto. For more information please visit www.dif.eu.
Contact DIF: Diederik Heinink, d.heinink@dif.eu
