Transmashholding has completed a project to expand diesel engine production capacity at its Penza plant by 62%. The 1·5bn rouble project began in 2018, supported by a 146·6m rouble loan from the Industry Development Fund. Seven high-performance machining centres were set up for the production of key components, including a programmable turning workstation, two CNC workstations, two turning and milling workstations, and two HEC 800 milling workstations.
Private banking group Reichmuth & Co and Peter Spuhler’s investment company PCS Holding have acquired a 49% stake in Dutch-based European wagon leasing company Railrelease through their investment vehicle CargoRoll Holding. ‘The company has a wide experience and proven track record in the market’ said Reichmuth & Co Investment Management CEO Stefan Hasenbӧhler.
On March 31 Cubic Corp announced the acceptance of a proposal from Veritas Capital and Evergreen Coast Capital to increase the price per share of their pending acquisition of Cubic to US$75 per share. This represents a 69% premium to the closing stock price on September 18 2020, the last trading day before the company’s disclosure of third-party interest in potentially acquiring Cubic. The all-cash transaction will be valued at approximately US$3·0bn. Singapore Technologies Engineering had proposed to acquire Cubic for US$78 per share, but the board determined that the revised proposal from Veritas and Evergreen was in the best interests of shareholders.
Technology investor Accel-KKR has agreed to acquire freight software developer Navis from Cargotec. ‘The movement of goods for a vast array of shippers and operators has increased exponentially in volume, velocity and complexity, amplifying the need for powerful workflow optimisation and full visibility into every corner of supply chains’, said Managing Director of Accel-KKR, Park Durrett, on March 26. ‘Navis will extend Accel-KKR’s focus on investing in solutions that can drive toward a true end-to-end, all-in-one execution and visibility platform that shippers and operators have been seeking.’ Citi is serving as financial adviser and Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren as legal counsel to Cargotec.
Hitachi Rail announced on April 1 that it had completed the acquisition of Southampton University spin off company Perpetuum, which uses wireless sensors powered by harvested vibration energy to provide rolling stock condition monitoring. Noting that Perpetuum already had blue-chip customers on three continents, Hitachi said the acquisition would drive further growth. The group has global projects, particularly in the Middle East and the Americas, which could benefit from the technology. Hitachi Rail was advised by PwC Corporate Finance and DLA Piper UK.
The USA’s Railway Supply Institute has welcomed the bipartisan reintroduction of the Freight Rail Assistance & Investment to Launch Coronavirus-era Activity & Recovery Act by 12 members of the US House of Representatives. The bill would offer a time-limited 50% tax credit for purchasing new wagons or refurbishing existing ones, and also tax credits for scrapping wagons and for capital expenditures to improve wagon manufacturing and repair. ‘The Freight RAILCAR Act will help incentivise private investment in the freight railcar manufacturing industry to preserve thousands of American jobs, reduce our carbon footprint, and ensure the integrity of our critical rail supply chains’, said Nicole Brewin, RSI Senior Vice-President of Government & Public Affairs on March 29.
Rail-focused internet of things company Dual Inventive has launched AnyWare as a new compnay to work in sectors including agriculture, infrastructure and industry, healthcare and security. ‘Since our foundation in 2008, it has been our goal to create integrated digital systems that improve rail capacity, network efficiency and track worker safety’, said CTO Lex van der Poel. ‘With the knowledge we have built during the development of our MTinfo 3000 ecosystem, today we are creating new opportunities for all sectors by launching AnyWare.’
FS Group has issued its third green bond with a nominal value €1bn and a seven year tenor. Total orders reached €1·75bn from around 90 investors, with a strong demand from Italy and 35% from abroad Almost 80% of the proceeds will finance the purchase of Alstom Pop and Hitachi Rock regional trains, with the remainder to be used for Hitachi ETR1000 high speed trains for use in Spain. Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs International, IMI-Intesa Sanpaolo, ING, Morgan Stanley, NatWest Markets, Santander and UniCredit acted as joint lead managers and joint bookrunners.
