German Rail Attracts Institutions the Dieselnetz Ulm Transaction Paved the Way for Institutional Investors in the German Regional Passenger Rail Transport Sector

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German Rail Attracts Institutions the Dieselnetz Ulm Transaction Paved the Way for Institutional Investors in the German Regional Passenger Rail Transport Sector GLOBAL INFRASTRUCTURE DIESELNETZ GERMAN RAIL ATTRACTS INSTITUTIONS THE DIESELNETZ ULM TRANSACTION PAVED THE WAY FOR INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS IN THE GERMAN REGIONAL PASSENGER RAIL TRANSPORT SECTOR. IN APRIL 2019 INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS CLOSED WITH DIESELNETZ SACHSEN-ANHALT THE SECOND TRANSACTION IN THE SECTOR. BY DERK OPITZ, PARTNER AT ASHURST. The German regional passenger rail transport As there is no fully functioning secondary sector, or Schienenpersonennahverkehr SPNV, market for used passenger rolling stock in is a fully liberalised sector and has been opened Germany, a bidder for a concession faces the so for privately owned train operating companies called residual value risk, ie, if the bidder does (TOCs) competing with the incumbent state- not win the following concession period, it is owned operators. left with a fleet of rail vehicles it cannot use Given that regional public passenger any more, even though the rolling stock can transport in general is not organised as a self- technically still be used for another 10 to 20 sustaining transport sector in the sense of full years. funding through fare box revenues, the federal Against this background most of the 26 government through the local public transport German PTAs support the financing of new authorities (PTAs) of the federal states financially rolling stock in a way that deals with the residual supports regional public passenger transport, value risk and provides comfort for the financiers. regionalisation funding. There is no uniform approach in Germany In order to create a level playing field for the as regards the support of the financing of new competing TOCs the PTAs in particular support rolling stock for the regional public transport. the financing of the acquisition of the rolling In fact, each of the 26 PTAs has its own stock needed for the respective operation, in approach. particular when the PTA requires the TOCs to use new rolling stock. Before Dieselnetz Ulm The reason for that support is that the PTAs European and German policy has been trying for aim to promote competition and want the TOCs years to support the financing of infrastructure to compete with better services for passengers by institutional investors. For example, Solvency and not with better financing conditions. II, the regulatory regime applying to insurance Therefore, the financing is supported in companies in Europe since 2016, introduced the one way or the other to take the financing concept of “qualified infrastructure”, privileging conditions out of the equation in a tender the investments of insurance companies in public process. infrastructure. If that was not the case, the state-owned At first glance financing of German regional TOCs would have a considerable competitive passenger rail transport looks like the perfect edge over the privately owned companies. investment for long-term and risk-averse For example, Deutsche Bahn AG, Germany’s investors such as life or health insurers given its leading train operating company, is 100% long term and low risk profile. Notwithstanding owned by the German federal government and that fact, until Dieselnetz Ulm, as further therefore benefits from the AAA rating of the described below, there was no financing by federal government. Deutsche Bahn AG could institutional investors in this area. This had theoretically finance its operations on the capital mainly three reasons: market at German public bond conditions, ie, at a l First, the financing of German regional coupon close to zero. passenger rail transport was a domain of A peculiarity of the German SPNV is driven by the German semi state-owned banks, or European regulation and specifics of the German Landesbanken. They purchased the remuneration market for rolling stock. claim against the PTA under a receivable Pursuant to European procurement laws a purchase agreement to issue covered bonds concession period for regional passenger rail backed by the claim against a public body. Even transport services in Germany is in principle though there are no public bonds covering the limited to a maximum period of 15 years. full length of rolling stock financings, the banks The average life time of rolling stock used for offered to the TOCs public bond conditions for public transport is 25 to 35 years depending, in the entire term and thereby outpriced other particular, on the type of traction. financing sources. Project Finance International Global Infrastructure Report June 2019 37 Book 1.indb 37 14/06/2019 13:44:07 DIESELNETZ GLOBAL INFRASTRUCTURE l Second, the Solvency II definition of qualified to assign the portion of the fixed remuneration infrastructure does not explicitly include claim against the PTA relating to the costs of rolling stock. Hence, at least as per today, the rolling stock financing to the financiers and it is the prevailing view among insurance (ii) the PTA waives any counter-claims it would companies that rolling stock does not qualify as have against the TOC vis-à-vis the financiers in infrastructure within the meaning of Solvency relation to such portion being assigned. II. The waiver of counter-claims has the effect l Third and most important, until Dieselnetz that even in case of a default of the TOC Ulm there was no market precedent for a with its obligations towards the PTA under financing with insurance companies. Usually the concession, the financiers would still be the bid is awarded two to three years before the remunerated. If the performance of the TOC commencement of operations. The supply of a deteriorates so much that the PTA is required mid-sized fleet of vehicles can take two years. to terminate the concession, the PTA would On average, the TOC has a maximum of six replace the TOC and oblige a new operator to months to have its financing in place in order to assume the financing. Thus the project risk be able to start the construction process in time. is taken away from the financiers and the Against this background, in particular the financiers can rely on the solvency of the PTA smaller, privately owned TOCs were hesitating instead of the TOC when assessing the likeliness to take the transactional risk and rely as of defaulting payments. counterparties on insurance companies, which The BEG, however, is organised as a private have, at least in Germany, limited experience at limited company owned by the Free State of the most with rolling stock financings. Bavaria. The remuneration claim is therefore not a direct claim against a public body. The second institutional deal For Diesel Network Ulm the time had come Bayerische Eisenbahngesellschaft mbH (BEG), for a new financing structure. Given that BEG the PTA of the Free State of Bavaria, in 2018 is a private company the remuneration claim selected DB Regio AG in a competitive bidding against the PTA is not a direct claim against a process to operate regional passenger transport public body and thus not eligible for a public services on the diesel rail network around the bond issue. Hence, the semi state-owned banks Bavarian city of Ulm (DNU) for a concession were not able to offer covered bond financing period from December 2020 until December for DNU. 2032 with approximately 1.5m train kilometres As stated, the regional passenger rail per year. transport in Germany is typically financed with The tender documents required from the a purchase of the remuneration claim against TOC to operate the passenger services with the PTA by the financiers under a receivable newly purchased diesel multiple-units (DMUs). purchase agreement (RPA). One of the reasons DB Regio AG will be operating the DNU with for choosing an RPA, in particular over a loan, Coradia LINT diesel railcars with a purchase is that a loan governed by German law can be price of more than €90m. repaid without premium or penalty after 10 BEG decided to support the financing of the years no matter if the contractual term is longer acquisition of the new DMUs in Ulm with a than 10 years. redeployment guarantee in combination with a Under Solvency II, however, insurance waiver of counter-claims. companies are limited in their type of l Redeployment guarantee – Under a redeployment investments. As a direct investment insurance guarantee the PTA guarantees the financiers companies can only invest in loans, bonds or that it will oblige the TOC being awarded the equity stakes. A financing by way of an RPA is subsequent concession period to use the DMUs not possible with insurance companies. under the same terms as for the first concession Therefore, DB Regio had to implement a period. In other words, the PTA guarantees the structure that has never been used before use of the DMUs for approximately 25 years. for SPNV transactions. The investor category This allows financiers to put in place a financing of institutional investors offered new with a term matching the lifetime of the rolling opportunities but on the other side, the stock. transaction had to meet further investment l Waiver of counter-claims – A waiver of counter- criteria such as in particular, the security claims means that (i) the PTA allows the TOC principle laid down in § 124 (1) No. 2 of the German Act on the Supervision of Insurance Undertakings, Versicherungsaufsichtsgesetz – Until Dieselnetz Ulm there was no VAG. DB Regio instructed Joh Berenberg, Gossler & market precedent for a financing with Co KG to arrange a financing by way of a project bond with insurance companies. Berenberg insurance companies. The smaller TOCs selected Ashurst LLP as legal adviser to the investors. The group of investors arranged were hesitating to take transactional risk by Berenberg was made up of the German pensions funds, life and health insurers 38 Project Finance International Global Infrastructure Report June 2019 Book 1.indb 38 14/06/2019 13:44:07 GLOBAL INFRASTRUCTURE DIESELNETZ represented by their asset managers MEAG, with its obligations towards the PTA, can acting for DKV Deutsche Krankenversicherung theoretically prejudice the TOCs ability to pay AG and ERGO Lebensversicherung AG, and the finance costs.
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