DC Advisory advised Dalmore Capital, Equitix, JII and Rock Rail on the acquisition of a 30% 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

Process

• DC Advisory 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 30% stake in ATW, recognising DC’s extremely strong expertise and knowledge in the UK rail sector
• DC provided comprehensive financial advisory services to the Consortium throughout the acquisition process including:
  • Financial modelling and valuation;
  • Structuring;
  • Process;
  • Consortium management and support in negotiations with the seller, including the transaction documents.
• DC also advised on:
  • Debt strategy;
  • Debt structuring;
  • Documentation negotiation and full execution;
  • Successfully supported the Consortium in delivering a fully financed transaction on a certain funds basis with the debt financing provided by long-dated “MidCo” index linked private placement lenders, a first for an acquisition financing in the UK.

Outcome

• DC ensured all workstreams were successfully completed and guided the Consortium to win in the competitive auction process
• On 1 November 2018, the Consortium announced the signing of the acquisition of a 30% stake in ATW
• The deal closed on 18 December 2018