Oppenhoff & Partner advises Gebr. Bode on acquisition of an interest in British company Rail Door Solutions

Gebr. Bode GmbH & Co. KG has acquired a 25% interest in Rail Door Solutions Ltd. (RDS) via a subsidiary. Additionally, a purchase option has been agreed which permits a majority takeover of the British company by Bode. RDS is an acknowledged service partner in the field of the construc-tion, modernisation, repair and service of door systems for rail vehicles and in future also for bus-ses. With the acquisition, Bode is strengthening its presence on the British market for door systems and thus consistently pursuing the Schaltbau Group's declared strategy of expansion.

Gebr. Bode is a leading supplier of door systems for buses and trains. Its range of products and services comprises the development, production, installation, commissioning and maintenance of door systems for city buses and coaches, city and regional trains and also high-speed trains. Gebr. Bode is a member of the Schaltbau Group. With annual sales of EUR 315 million and a workforce of around 1,700 employees, the Schaltbau Group is a leading supplier of components and systems for the transport technology sector.
An Oppenhoff & Partner team comprising Dr. Günter Seulen and Dr. Falk Osterloh (both M&A corporate law) comprehensively advised Gebr. Bode during the acquisition.

Oppenhoff & Partner most recently advised Gebr. Bode inter alia on the acquisition of an interest in Bode Corporation, USA. Dr. Günter Seulen commented: "These examples demonstrate once again the ability of Oppenhoff & Partner to provide top quality and at the same time efficient legal advice in international transactions in a team with law firms from other jurisdictions."

The law firm most recently advised inter alia

• akf bank on the acqusition of CIT Industriebank
• RTL on the acquistion of netzathleten.net
• Italian state railway Ferrovie dello Stato S.p.A. on the establishment of a joint venture with the Luxembourg infrastructure fund Cube Transport, which acquired Arriva from Deutsche Bahn
• Wegmann on the assumption of the Siemens’ shares in Krauss-Maffei Wegmann
• NH Hoteles on the sale of five hotel properties in Germany and Austria

Oppenhoff & Partner stands for over 100 years of legal counselling on a top level. The independent firm advises national and international companies and entrepreneurs on matters of commercial and tax law.