ESTONIA: The purchase and sale agreement for the privatisation of national rail freight operator Operail was signed by the RailProject OÜ subsidiary of winning bidder Tiigi Keskus on October 31.
The government took the decision to privatise the national rail freight transport and rolling stock maintenance business in February, deeming it non-strategic, and the tendering process was launched on June 7. The best bid was deemed to be have be submitted by Tallinn-based Tiigi Keskus, which is active in property management and owns a majority stake in grain processing and pasta production group Tartu Mill. Final negotiations began on October 17.
The transaction is expected to be completed in the coming months once regulatory approval is received.
‘I want to thank all parties for their quick and correct contribution to the privatisation of Operail’, said Minister of Infrastructure Vladimir Svet. ‘However, a significant part of the work is yet to be done after obtaining various approvals, and therefore the auction cannot be declared finished today. We can provide additional comments on the sales process, as well as the exact price and terms of the transaction when the transaction is finalised.’
The sale was carried out by the investment banking unit of LHV Pank, with Ellex Raidla Advokaadibüroo as legal adviser.
