CMS advises Astra Rail on establishing joint venture with Greenbrier Europe

28 October 2016 – 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.

CMS advised Astra Rail on all legal aspects of the amalgamation with Greenbrier Europe. Spanning five jurisdictions, establishing the joint venture involved a number of 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.

The CMS team included members from Germany, the Netherlands and Poland and was headed by Klaus Jäger and Marcus Wuntke.