AUSTRIA: Hungarian rail freight company CER Cargo Group has agreed to acquire Wiener Lokalbahnen Cargo in a transaction which is expected to be completed by the end of 2025.
WLC is currently owned by Wiener Lokalbahnen, which operates an inter-urban light rail line from Wien to Baden. In May Wiener Lokalbahnen and its parent, the city utility holding company Wiener Stadtwerke, launched an open bidding process to find a strategic partner capable of further developing the main line freight business.
WLC was founded in 2007 and now provides combined transport (75%) and wagonload (25%) services internationally. It has offices in Austria, Germany and the Czech Republic, and a fleet of 32 electric locomotives, three diesel shunters and 245 container wagons.
‘We are pleased to have found in CER Cargo Group a buyer who, throughout the entire process, has shown that they have ambitious strategic plans for WLC’, said Monika Unterholzer, Deputy General Director of Wiener Stadtwerke, on November 5.
CER Cargo Group has subsidiaries in southern, eastern and central Europe, and said it sees WLC as an ideal addition to expand its activities.
‘With WLC, we have found the ideal addition to our international business portfolio’, said László Horváth, Chairman and majority owner of CER Cargo Group. ‘This expansion enables us to offer interoperable rail freight services across Europe. We look forward to working with WLC’s highly qualified employees and benefiting from the expertise the company has built up over the years, particularly in the Austrian and German markets.’
