French locomotive leasing company Akiem has completed a €290m issue of green US private placement notes with tenors of 15 and 20 years. ING acted as green and rating advisor and sole placement agent. ‘We were able to deliver a sustainable finance package through the US private placement market where we found strong investor appetite for high quality, long-dated investment opportunities’, said Juliette van Enckevort, Global Lead Land Transport, Transport & Logistics at ING. ‘Combined with Akiem’s commitment to transition to the low-carbon economy this made for an attractive proposition.’
UK traditional and UAV surveying company Plowman Craven became an Employee Owned Trust on March 23, following the sale of investors’ shares to its employees. ‘Over the last 18 months we considered various business model alternatives but our highly agile and robust performance through the pandemic convinced us that maintaining innovative independence was our favoured option’, said Managing Director Andy Molloy. Freeths LLP advised Plowman Craven on setting up the EOT.
Calgary based TransRail Innovation Group has acquired Formation Liquids Logistics Ltd, which provides automation consultancy services for rail terminals. ‘Rail terminal and shippers have traditionally been slow to embrace digital technology, relying on tried and true manual processes and systems, but those trends are evolving’, said Marvin Trimble, Vice-President of Rail Technology & Improvement at TRIG. ‘FLLL has been able to help many operators realise significant improvements in their operations, and in turn safety and profitability.’
Eurofima has subscribed to FS Group’s latest private placement to the amount of €250m. The proceeds will primarily be used for the refinancing of electric locomotives and coaches used on long-distance services. With maturity in April 2041, the transaction represents the longest financing raised by FS in the last 15 years.
Nomad Digital has announced a partnership with Irdeto to provide secure content through its Engage Portal via Irdeto’s Control on the Go digital rights management platform. COTG allows transport operators to provide content to passengers own devices and built-in displays without piracy concerns. ‘Irdeto’s partnership approach, vendor-agnostic mindset and proactivity in managing risks allowed us to quickly accelerate delivery to our global customer base’, said Angela Trainor, Product Manager at Nomad Digital.
