Noerr advises LHI Group on €2.5 bn leasing and financing structure for 90 new suburban trains in Munich

A Noerr team led by Elmar Bindl, Alexander Schilling and Dominik Kloka has comprehensively advised LHI Group, a leading German provider of leasing, investment and asset management solutions, on the legal and tax aspects of a leasing and financing structure for 90 new suburban trains in Munich with a transaction volume of more than €2.5 billion.

Deutsche Bahn has ordered 90 new trains for the Munich suburban railway system under the transport contract with Bayerische Eisenbahngesellschaft (BEG), which plans, finances and controls the regional and suburban transportation system in Bavaria on behalf of the Bavarian State Ministry for Housing, Construction and Transport. The new suburban trains are manufactured by Siemens Mobility. LHI Group developed the leasing structure for the new suburban trains on behalf of BEG and will operate the structure via special purpose vehicles during the construction and operation phase. The financing was provided by a bank consortium comprised of the European Investment Bank (EIB) and UniCredit’s German subsidiary, HypoVereinsbank (HVB). The financing is guaranteed by the State of Bavaria.

The first new suburban trains are scheduled to go into operation at the end of 2028. It will be the first time that a train of over 200 metres in length, with walk-through carriages and offering room for 1,841 passengers, will be in use. The greater capacity will create the basis for passenger growth in the coming decades and for the transition to sustainable mobility in the Greater Munich area.

Noerr regularly advises LHI Group on tax, investment and financing law matters.

Advisors to LHI Group: Noerr Partnerschaftsgesellschaft mbB

Lead: Elmar Bindl (partner, Tax, Munich), Alexander Schilling (partner, Banking & Finance), Dominik Kloka (associated partner, Capital Markets and Regulatory, both Frankfurt) 

Tax: Martin Haisch (partner, Frankfurt), Sebastian Leidel (associated partner), Nico Rosenfelder (associate, both Munich)

Commercial: Mansur Pour Rafsendjani (partner), Wolf Stumpf (partner), Lukas Schu (associate, all Frankfurt)

Banking & Finance: Patrick Geist (senior associate), Ana-Maria Mirceta (associate, both Frankfurt)

Corporate / Capital Markets: Georg Langheld (associated partner, Munich), Jan Lohse (associate, Hamburg)