European railcar leasing and rail logistics company VTG Aktiengesellschaft has completed the acquisition of CIT Rail Holdings (Europe) and its wagon-leasing company Nacco Group.
The acquisition was completed for net proceeds of around $1.1bn with CIT Rail Holdings (Europe)’s parent company CIT Group.
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It will add more than 11,000 railcars to VTG’s 83,000-unit portfolio, bolstering its presence across key European markets including the UK, Scandinavia, the Netherlands, Austria, France, Italy and Eastern Europe.
In March, the company received Germany’s Federal Cartel Office conditional approval for the acquisition, which was announced in July last year.
VTG Aktiengesellschaft executive board chairman Dr Heiko Fischer said: “The Nacco takeover will strengthen our market position in Europe for a long time to come.
“That’s why we are pleased to finally be able to close out the transaction, despite the reduced scope, and to reinforce our position as a potent, forward-looking partner for rail transportation.”
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By GlobalDataAssessing Nacco’s capital investments made in the last two years, VTG expects that the acquisition will generate additional revenue of nearly €85m and EBITDA of around €70m in 2019.
The completion of the transaction also marks CIT’s exit from Europe and its current rail business, including railcar leasing and equipment financing will be limited within the US, Canada, and Mexico.
CIT Group chairwoman and CEO Ellen R Alemany said: “This marks another step forward in our strategic plan to simplify and strengthen the company as we focus on growing our core businesses.
“With the sale of NACCO completed, we have exited our last ongoing overseas operation, which allowed us to initiate a series of steps to further optimize our funding profile and focus on our core strengths in North America.”
