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  • [ Case Studies ]
    /
  • [ FINANCIAL ADVISORY ]

VMS – Chemnitzer Model

Financing of:
— a new fleet of Stadler TramTrains;
— a new maintenance depot;
— refinancing of an existing depot where the VMS EMU and BEMU pool is maintained by Alstom.
  • Client's profile
    VMS (Verkehrsverbund Mittelsachsen) is organising the regional and urban passenger rail transport for the City of Chemnitz and the Central Saxonian region on behalf of publicly owned Zweckverband (ZVMS). VMS is acquiring regional passenger trains and depots for their operations through a specific financial structure developed specifically for the organization of VMS and ZVMS with no direct recourse to public credit risks.
The financing raised for this multiple-asset-transaction was in excess of EUR 150m and allowed VMS to place the orders for a fleet of 11 x new TramTrains from Stadler and the construction of a brand new maintenance depot for this new fleet in the centre of Chemnitz including the acquisition of the land. Since VMS had to refinance an intercompany loan on another major maintenance depot for their existing Alstom EMU and BEMU trains, this transaction was included in the overall transaction as well. The Chemnitzer Model financing attracted EIB long-term debt financing as well as KfW-Ipex and NordLB, two very experienced banks in this sector.

Following the successful financing of new battery-electric Alstom Coradia trains for VMS in 2019, Apex Rail was engaged as exclusive financial advisor to VMS covering the complete scope from
  1. the structuring of a multiple-asset-financial solutions with the preparation of all relevant materials to run a financing auction
  2. managing the financing auction on a two-stage basis
  3. Supporting VMS in the preparation of all due-diligence materials, here not only rolling stock FMV appraisals but also extensive appraisals for the new maintenance depot
  4. Managing the negotiation, documentation and approval process until Financial Close.

Markus Fröhlich

Managing Director in Apex Rail