K&L Gates Advises Rock Rail Holdings Limited and Infracapital on Regional Passenger Rail Project in Germany

Frankfurt – Global law firm K&L Gates LLP has advised Rock Rail Holdings Limited and Infracapital on the conclusion of an operating lease agreement for 18 brand new Siemens Mobility GmbH Mireo electric four-car regional trains and the related comprehensive project agreements. Just a few months after the Leipzig Regional Transport Authority (ZVNL) and the State of Saxony-Anhalt, represented by Nahverkehrsservice Sachsen-Anhalt GmbH (NASA GmbH), awarded DB Regio AG the contract for the operation of the Leipzig MDSB 2025+ Lot 1, the project documents and lease financing have now also been successfully concluded.

The trains will be leased through Rock Rail MDSB 1 OpCo Limited, a leasing company, to DB Regio AG for the provision of transport services on behalf of ZVNL and NASA GmbH on the Mitteldeutsche S-Bahn Los 1 network. Financing is provided by equity from Infracapital and Rock Rail and debt from various European infrastructure debt investors arranged by MEAG.

The K&L Gates team advising Rock Rail Holdings Limited and Infracapital was led by Frankfurt partner Dr. Frank Thomas and senior associate Anne Thümmel-Barz (both Banking & Asset Finance). The team also included Berlin partners Dr. Annette Mutschler-Siebert (Procurement Law) and Christoph Mank (Corporate and Commercial), and Frankfurt associate Patrick Glück (Banking & Finance).

Rock Rail Holdings Limited is a UK-based independent developer, owner, asset manager and lessor of rolling stock and other rail infrastructure, founded in 2014. Since 2016, the company has acquired over £3 billion of rail assets.

Infracapital invests in, builds, and manages a diverse range of essential infrastructure. Infracapital is part of M&G Plc, an international savings and investments business, managing money for around 5 million retail customers and more than 800 institutional clients in 26 markets. Total assets under management are £332.8 billion.