Addleshaw Goddard has advised ODEG – Ostdeutsche Eisenbahnen GmbH on the procurement process and financing of 14 new battery-electric trains from the manufacturer Stadler. The financing transaction was preceded by a procurement process of the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania for local passenger transport, in which ODEG was awarded the contract for the West Mecklenburg II subnetwork by VMV – Verkehrsgesellschaft Mecklenburg-Vorpommern mbH.

The trains will be acquired by an investment company of Akiem Group SAS as lessor. The lessee's shareholders – NETINERA Deutschland GmbH and BENEX GmbH – and Rail Capital Europe Investment SAS on the part of the lessor were all involved in the negotiations.

The Addleshaw Goddard team was led by Eckart Budelmann (Partner, Corporate Finance) and Dr. Jan-Oliver Schrotz (Partner, Regulatory, both Hamburg). The ODEG in-house team was led by Dr. Heiko Piesbergen (Head of Legal at NETINERA) and Nadine Stark (Legal Counsel at NETINERA).

Rail Capital Europe was advised by Bird & Bird. The state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania was advised by Eichler Kern Klein.

Addleshaw Goddard has deep industry expertise in the transport sector and regularly advises long-standing client NETINERA and its subsidiaries. The NETINERA Group is part of the Italian Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane (FS Group). NETINERA has been an operator of local public transport in Germany since 2004. Addleshaw Goddard's team recently supported the NETINERA Group in the procurement process and successful review procedures for several main lines on the Central German S-Bahn network in Leipzig and the financing of 41 new Siemens electric trains.