AXA IM - Real Assets and Crédit Agricole buy European Locomotive Leasing

KKR has sold a European train leasing company to AXA Investment Managers - Real Assets and Crédit Agricole Assurances for an undisclosed sum.

European Locomotive Leasing (ELL) was formed in early 2014 by founder and CEO Christoph Katzensteiner together with the KKR Global Infrastructure Investors fund.

ELL, which initially planned to buy a fleet of 50 locomotives, currently has a fleet of over 150 locomotives that are leased on long-term contracts to over 20 customers across continental Europe.

Last month KKR said it had signed an agreement to sell the business to AXA IM – Real Assets and Crédit Agricole Assurances.

Confirming the deal today, AXA IM - Real Assets said following completion of this transaction, its infrastructure business spanning debt and equity, managed on behalf of clients, will stand at €8bn, with equity surpassing €1.5bn.

Mark Gilligan, head of infrastructure equity at AXA IM - Real Assets, said: “We first invested in rolling stock in 2018 with Agility Trains West in the UK. That’s a core infrastructure business and it’s performing wonderfully.

“ELL, however, is core plus reflecting our aim to diversify across the infrastructure risk spectrum. It makes a brilliant addition to our portfolio through combining state-of-the-art all-electric Siemens Vectron locomotives, diverse clients across central Europe and potential for growth aligned with trans-EU trade flows.”