ALPHA TRAINS: Investment manager AMP Capital and Canada’s Public Sector Pension Investment Board have separately agreed to sell their stakes in rolling stock leasing company Alpha Trains to Dutch pension providers APG, which already owns an indirect interest, and PGGM Infrastructure Fund.
Completion is subject to regulatory approval.
AMP Capital and PSP Investments have been investors in Alpha Trains since it was established in 2008. The company has since grown to own a portfolio of 855 locomotives and passenger trainsets used by operators in 17 European countries, with the majority of its fleet being electric.
‘Alpha Trains is an excellent business with a strong position in the Continental European rail market, together with an attractive and diversified portfolio of assets which generate long-term and resilient cash flows, which fits perfectly with the requirements of our pension funds clients’, said Arjan Reinders, APG’s Head of Infrastructure Europe, on January 13. ‘APG is making a strategic investment in the business, its management and its people, and we intend to further contribute to Alpha Trains’ success and growth over the long term.’
Erik van de Brake, Head of Infrastructure at PGGM, said ‘we expect the company to continue its strong performance and generate long-term stable revenues for the fund’s participants, including Pensioenfonds Zorg en Welzijn, who are working towards a more sustainable investment portfolio. This investment enables long-term pension capital to support the growing demand for sustainable ways of transport in Europe.’
Alpha Trains CEO Shaun Mills said ‘I look forward to working with our new shareholders, alongside existing shareholder Arcus, to continue to grow and develop the Alpha Trains business’.
