Stevens & Bolton has advised Rock Rail, the investor-developer of rolling stock and other rail infrastructure, in relation to its co-investment alongside abrdn Core Infrastructure, in a new fleet of Alstom electric trains for the Main-Weser rail network running north of Frankfurt, Germany. With senior debt finance arranged by MEAG, the trains will start operating on the network in December 2024.
This represents Rock Rail and abrdn’s first co-investment in Europe and is the latest of a number of deals on which Stevens & Bolton has provided corporate legal support to Rock Rail, including the West Coast, East Midlands, South Western and Greater Anglia rail franchise projects.
Trevor Sturmy, partner at Rock Rail, commented: “Many thanks to the Stevens & Bolton team who supported us on this important transaction to extend our ownership model into the German rolling stock market.”
Richard Baxter, corporate partner at Stevens & Bolton, added: “It was a great pleasure to work with the Rock Rail team again on this strategic first project in Germany – delivering increased capacity, improved passenger experience and meeting latest specifications for persons with reduced mobility.”
The Stevens & Bolton team was led by corporate partner Richard Baxter, supported by James Floyd and Edward Cummings (corporate) and finance partner Andrew Dodds. Rock Rail was advised on project financing by K&L Gates (Frankfurt), Clifford Chance (London and Frankfurt), and other legal advisers included Ashurst (for abrdn) and CMS (for MEAG).
Richard Baxter
James Floyd