International investment firm KKR has said it will invest in European Locomotive Leasing (ELL), a full-service locomotive leasing solutions provider.
Based in Austria and Germany, ELL serves freight and passenger operators throughout continental Europe and KKR said the company coiuld capitalise on the "liberalisation" of rail traffic across the continent and the growing importance of private rail operators more likely to favour leasing.
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KKR will make the investment under its global infrastructure fund.
Johannes Huth, head of KKR Europe, said: "We view the full-service locomotive leasing market as attractive to a new entrant with the right long-term capital structure, management team and fleet of high-performance and environmentally friendly locomotives.
"We look forward to partnering with the ELL management team to support the development of an infrastructure area that is critical for the growth of the continental European economy," he added.
Jesús Olmos, head of KKR Infrastructure Europe, said: "Today’s announcement represents another exciting step in the growth and diversification of our infrastructure platform in Europe, following earlier investments in onshore wind, solar, water, district heating and parkings."
