ADVANT Beiten Advises Regionalverband Ruhr on Sale of Former Bismarck Railway Depot

Berlin, 30 January 2023 - The international law firm ADVANT Beiten has advised Regionalverband Ruhr (RVR), a regional planning and development association, on the sale of the former Bismarck railway depot in Gelsenkirchen to the Spanish railway group and train manufacturer CAF on issues of state aid and real estate law. The parties agreed not to disclose the transaction volume.

The railway depot is centrally located in the Ruhr metropolis, is developed with listed buildings and has two sidings to the network of Deutsche Bahn. It is therefore attractive for commercial development and the RVR had several direct enquiries. The sale was concluded in a competition-like, transparent selection procedure which had been advertised EU-wide. Award criteria were defined in the course of the tender.

The multinational group CAF is a leading provider in the railway sector and has acquired the property in its entirety in order to develop it for its own purposes as of 2023. At the site in Gelsenkirchen, CAF will be servicing in the near future its modern, battery-powered regional train sets for local transport in the region for the first time which will replace old diesel vehicles.

ADVANT Beiten designed and advised on the state aid and real estate law part of the transaction and the Europe-wide selection procedure and conducted the sales negotiations with the bidders.

Advisor to RVR:

ADVANT Beiten: Dr Dietmar O. Reich (Hamburg/Brussels), Christian Hipp (Berlin, both State Aid Law), Dr Klaus Kemen (Berlin, Real Estate).

Media Contact

Frauke Reuther

Manager Kommunikation

ADVANT Beiten

+49 (69) 75 60 95 - 570

frauke.reuther@advant-beiten.com

Dr Klaus Kemen

Rechtsanwalt

ADVANT Beiten

+49 (30) 26 471 - 133

klaus.kemen@advant-beiten.com