Cologne – US-based freight wagon manufacturer The Greenbrier Companies, Inc. and its Romanian counterpart, Astra Rail, are forming a joint venture in Europe. Once the transaction has been completed, Greenbrier will hold around 75% and Astra Rail approximately 25% of the shares in the newly established company, Greenbrier-Astra Rail. The transaction is currently awaiting approval from the competition authorities in several EU countries.
A team headed by lead partners Klaus Jäger and Marcus Wuntke advised Astra Rail on all legal aspects of the amalgamation with Greenbrier Europe. Spanning five jurisdictions, establishing the joint venture involved a number of correspondingly complex structuring issues relating to corporate and tax law.
Greenbrier-Astra Rail will bring together the manufacturing, engineering and sale of freight wagons and other services. In order to do so, the two companies will merge their units in Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Germany. The joint venture will be headquartered in the Netherlands and have a total of six production and repair facilities in Poland and Romania. The company will employ almost 4,000 people across Europe. The joint venture will seek to expand and intensify its business in Europe, the Gulf States and Eurasia.
Astra Rail produces freight wagons and bogies at three locations in Romania. Alongside production, maintenance and repair, the firm offers services for the development and inspection of rail vehicles. In 2012, the company's shares were acquired by German investor Thomas Manns.
Greenbrier is a leading provider of products and services for the rail transport sector, based in Lake Oswego, Oregon, USA. Worldwide, Greenbrier has more than 10,000 employees and owns a lease fleet of over 8,900 freight wagons. In the 2015 financial year, the company received orders for more than 32,000 rail vehicles.
CMS Germany
Klaus Jäger, Lead Partner
Marcus Wuntke, Counsel
Stephan Weling, Associate, all Corporate
Kai Neuhaus, Partner, Competition & EU
Marcus Fischer, Counsel, Tax
CMS Netherlands
Mark Ziekman, Partner
Herman van Aerts, Associate, both Corporate
Gieneke van Nierop, Associate, Corporate / Notary Candidate
Eduard Scheenstra, Partner, Finance
CMS Poland
Blazej Zagorski, Counsel, Corporate and Lead Due Diligence
Julita Mazurkiewicz, Senior Associate
Grzegorz Paczek, Associate, both Corporate
Katarzyna Koszel, Senior Associate
Barbara Kostyra-Górnik, Trainee, both Real Property
Miłosz Tomasik, Associate, Environmental
Maciej Andrzejewski, Associate, Employment
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