KKR has signed a definitive agreement under which a consortium formed by AXA Investment Managers – Real Assets, acting on behalf of its clients and Crédit Agricole Assurances, will acquire European Locomotive Leasing (ELL), a pan-European electric locomotive leasing solution provider.
ELL was established in early 2014 by founder and CEO Christoph Katzensteiner together with KKR’s first Infrastructure fund, KKR Global Infrastructure Investors. The investment rationale was to meet the significant and unfulfilled market demand for modern, versatile electric locomotives, thereby supporting the broad political agenda to shift freight transportation from road to rail, as well as to facilitate liberalization and competition in the rail market by offering leasing solutions to market players.
While the initial business plan foresaw the purchase of a fleet of 50 locomotives, the company has after five years of operations built a fleet of more than 150 locomotives that are l
