Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek represents VTG at the Federal Cartel Office and advises on the registration of CIT Group (USA) in Austria

July, 2017 - Duesseldorf, Germany

A team led by Dr. Rainer Velte, partner at Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek's Düsseldorf office, advises VTG AG in matters of antitrust law related to the acquisition of all shares in CIT Rail Holdings (Europe) and the affiliated NACCO Group. The Düsseldorf-based antitrust law team represents the company at the Federal Cartel Office. As part of the transaction, the team advises CIT Group (USA) also on coordinating its registration in Austria.

The transaction is expected to be completed in Q4/2017. With the acquisition, VTG is expanding its market position as Europe's leading private wagon hire company. The purchase price is estimated at around EUR 780 million. In addition, NACCO Group invested up to EUR 140 million in freight cars between January 1 and the closing on July 1, 2017.

The transaction is financed via a senior loan of up to EUR 500 million, a privately placed hybrid bond of about EUR 300 million and the assumption of existing net debt of about EUR 120 million. The hybrid bond is to be refinanced via the capital market, potentially via a subscription rights issue to increase VTG's capital from authorized capital.

Hamburg-based VTG AG is one of Europe's leading wagon hire and rail logistics companies. The company's fleet comprises some 80,000 railcars. In addition to wagon rentals, VTG offers logistics services focusing on the railway sector and worldwide tanker container transports. VTG employs about 1,400 people worldwide and generated revenue of EUR 987 million in fiscal 2016.

Counsel to VTG AG
Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek:
Dr. Rainer Velte,
Beatrice Stange, LL.M.
Michael Vetter, LL.M. (Univ. of Miami) (all Antitrust) all Düsseldorf

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