fwp advised STADLER on the establishment of a joint venture with ÖBB-Technische Services-GmbH. ÖBB STADLER Service GmbH will be responsible for the maintenance of the KISS train fleet operated by WESTbahn Management GmbH. The closing took place on 20 July 2017, following the successful signing on 2 March 2017.

 The joint venture – ÖBB STADLER Service GmbH – was formed for the purpose of providing maintenance services for trains, including the KISS fleet of WESTbahn. The shareholdings of ÖBB-TS and STADLER are 60 percent and 40 percent, respectively. STADLER, which has been in charge of maintenance of the KISS fleet for five years already, contributes expertise and know-how to the joint venture. Recently, WESTbahn increased its railcar fleet from 7 to 17 STADLER KISS trains. It is planned to relocate the maintenance business to Vienna. In the course of such expansion, the number of joint venture employees is scheduled to grow 40 by the end of 2018.

Together, STADLER and ÖBB set new standards in service and maintenance in Austria: ‘The joint venture is going to apply an innovative, modular system, performing maintenance on the vehicles overnight and reducing WESTBahn’s vehicle reserve to a minimum.’

‘Thanks to the excellent cooperation among all the parties involved, and especially with the Swiss advisors, the transaction went smoothly. The special challenge was to establish appropriate legal safeguards for the long-term cooperation’, says fwp partner Markus Kajaba.

The team consisted of fwp partners Markus Kajaba (lead) and Lukas Flener (Antitrust Law) as well as fwp associate Michael Froner