International law firm Bird & Bird has advised Wascosa AG and its owners Philipp Müller and his family on the sale of the group to Swiss Life Asset Managers and Vauban Infrastructure Partners.
Wascosa, based in Lucerne, Switzerland, is one of the largest independent managers of freight wagons and operates in over 20 countries in Europe. The owners sold the Holding AG including its operating group companies to the consortium of investment funds. By the end of 2021, they had already jointly acquired an 88% stake in the German freight car owner Aves One AG, an important partner of Wascosa.
Wascosa will continue to offer its customers innovative solutions in rail logistics. To ensure continuity in management, Philipp Müller has agreed to extend his term as Chairman of the Board of Directors as part of the transaction and willcontinue to lead the Wascosa team. Lucerne will remain the operational headquarters.
Wascosa AG and its owners were advised by the following Bird & Bird lawyers: partner Dr. Matthias Winter (lead) and associate Tilman Sörgel (both financing and financial regulation), partner Dr. Hans Peter Leube, LL.M. and associate Tamara Böhmert, (both Corporate/Private Equity) all Frankfurt, counsel Dr. Christina Lorenz (Corporate/Private Equity, Munich), partner Dr. Jörg Witting, partner Dr. Stephan Waldheim and associate Tamy Tietze, (all Antitrust law, Düsseldorf) and associate Richie Lamb (Corporate, London)
