DC Advisory advised Dalmore Capital, Equitix, JII and Rock Rail on a further 15% stake in Agility Trains West from Hitachi Rail Limited

Background

• Agility Trains West (ATW) was established in 2012 to finance, own and maintain 57 Hitachi class 800 trains that form the first phase of the Intercity Express Programme (IEP)
• IEP is a £5.7bn government-led rolling stock programme to build and maintain 122 new intercity trains for the East Coast and Great Western main lines
• The full fleet was successfully in service in December 2018

Process

• Following the successful close of an initial 30% acquisition of ATW in 2018, DC Advisory (DC) was engaged by the consortium comprising Dalmore Capital (Dalmore), Equitix Investment Management (Equitix), Japan Infrastructure Initiative (JII) and Rock Rail (Rock) to act as financial adviser, providing buy-side M&A and debt advice on the acquisition of a further 15% stake in ATW
• DC provided comprehensive financial advisory services to the consortium throughout the acquisition process, including:
  • Financial modelling and valuation;
  • Structuring, process and consortium management; and
  • Support in negotiations with the seller, including the transaction documents.
• DC also provided debt advisory services assisting the consortium draw on a further tranche of long dated “MidCo” index linked private placement debt

Outcome

• DC ensured all workstreams were successfully completed and guided the consortium to a swift completion of the additional stake
• In April 2019, the consortium announced the signing of the acquisition of an additional 15% stake in ATW
• The deal closed on 30 April 2019
• The acquisition price was not disclosed