Cypriot T.A.S. Overseas Investments Limited of Sergey Tigipko’s TAS Group has acquired 40.03% in Austrian TransAnt GmbH (Linz), a joint venture established by Austrian ÖBB Rail Cargo Group and voestalpine Stahl GmbH to produce innovative and cost-efficient rail freight cars.
“Another strategic investor with extensive know-how in the railcar industry and modern available assets for the production of freight cars has been brought on board for the company’s recent growth phase in February 2023,” according to information on TransAnt’s website.
According to the Austrian register, voestalpine Stahl’s share has fallen from 80.2% to 48.1% and Rail Cargo Group’s from 19.8% to 11.87%.
The joint venture specifies that after its first cars in continuous operation on the railroad since 2019, another series is being worked on, and TransAnt is focused on creating its own manufacturing technology.
“As early as the second half of 2023, we plan to produce additional railcars in greater numbers using this new manufacturing technology,” the company pointed out.
As previously reported, the competition authorities in Ukraine and Cyprus previously granted TAS Overseas Investments Limited of the TAS Group permission to purchase over 25% in TransAnt.
“TransAnt GmbH is a joint venture established at the end of 2020 between Rail Cargo Austria Aktiengesellschaft and voestalpine Stahl GmbH to operate in the rail freight sector. At this stage, TransAnt is not engaged in commercial activities. However, after the completion of this transaction, it is expected to be actively engaged in the production, development, supply, sale and rental of “flexible” wagons and superstructures for the transport of goods in the industrial sector,” the Cyprus Competition Commission pointed out.
Initially, Rail Cargo Group reported plans for parity ownership in the joint venture with voestalpine, but voestalpine had a controlling stake before the transaction with the TAS Group, in connection with which the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine classified TransAnt and voestalpine Stahl GmbH and related companies as a single business entity – the VAS Group. It is a global steel and technology group operating in the automotive, consumer, aerospace, oil and gas, and railroad industries, which is listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange and has no ultimate beneficial owners.
TAS Group was founded in 1998 by businessman Sergei Tigipko. Its business interests include the financial sector (banking and insurance) and pharmacy, industry, real estate and venture projects.
The group includes Dneprovagonmash, one of Ukraine’s leading companies in design and manufacture of freight cars. Its annual production capacity is 9 thnd railcars. In 2021, DVM decreased its production of freight cars by 39.2% to 477, and its sales decreased by 44% to 461, but last year it produced 623 cars. There is no data on financial indicators for 2022 yet, but the company reported a net profit of 32.7 mln hryvnias.
Tigipko told Forbes Ukraine in late 2022 that Dniprovagonmash manufactures 70 freight cars per month and is preparing to localize production in Austria.
