Pinsent Masons advises Knorr-Bremse on the sale of its service business in the United Kingdom

Knorr-Bremse and Mutares signed an agreement to take over the entire service business for vehicle overhauls, which is scheduled to complete in Autumn 2018.

Knorr-Bremse RailServices UK is a leading provider of services for rail vehicle operators in Great Britain and Ireland. It has almost 600 employees that are spread across two sites near Milton Keynes and Glasgow. Kiepe Electric is a supplier of electrical systems to leading manufacturers of rail vehicles and buses around the world. In total, the two companies’ sales in the 2017 financial year amounted to approximately EUR 85 million.

Knorr-Bremse will continue to work with these companies as preferred installation and integration partners. This will ensure a smooth transition for both employees and suppliers, and serves to ensure continuous delivery to customers.

"With this step, we are continuing our ongoing efforts to refocus our strategy on our core competencies as a key supplier of subsystems, components and related services for the rail vehicle industry," explains Klaus Deller, Chairman of the Executive Board of Knorr-Bremse AG and responsible for the Rail Vehicles Division: "We are delighted with the agreement with Mutares. It brings significant added value to the divested companies."

Knorr-Bremse is the world's leading manufacturer of braking systems for rail and commercial vehicles and is represented at over 100 locations in 30 countries. The Rail Vehicle Systems division generated sales of EUR 3.33 billion in 2017 and employed 16,051 people.

The company is realigning its vehicle service business and thus continuing its strategic realignment. At the beginning of the year, the Swedish subsidiary of the German Knorr-Bremse AG sold its shares in Swedtrac Rail Services AB to Stadler Service Sweden AB, a subsidiary of Stadler Rail AG, Switzerland, thus undertaking a strategic realignment of its vehicle services on the Swedish and Scandinavian markets. Knorr-Bremse Nordic Rail Services AB was also advised here by Pinsent Masons.

The Pinsent Masons team advising Knorr-Bremse:

Pinsent Masons (Munich): Dr. Michael Prüßner, LL.M. (Federführung); Dr. Johannes Maidl, Dr. Florian Anselm, Marina Arntzen, LL.M., Benjamin Schikora (all M&A/Corporate), Dr. Michael Reich, Dr. Mathias Greupner (Antitrust), Anna Martin (Employment), Mark Leonard, Domenico Schwan (Banking & Finance) Dr. Stephan Appt, LL.M. (IP), Yasmin Ali (Insurance)

Pinsent Masons (UK/London/Glasgow): Edward Stead, Andrew Masraf, Lisa Early, Sarah Stewart, Neil Black (all M&A/Corporate), Sam Hall, Jennifer Lee, Samantha Livesey (all Commercial), Joanna Robinson, Felicity Cinnamon, Nicola Grant, Neill Hogg, Shelley McCulloch (all Real Estate), Nick Stones, Nadia Zegze, Hannah McDaid, Rachel Thompson, Caroline MacLaughlin, Brendan Martyn, Edward Lister, Helen Sawers (all Banking & Finance)

Inhouse Advisor Knorr-Bremse (Munich): Christian Vornehm (Head Service Line Legal M&A / Antitrust, F/RM)