ÖBB subsidiary Rail Tours acquires strategic stake in railtour suisse with legal counsel from Wolf Theiss

Vienna, 9 December 2022 – Wolf Theiss successfully advised ÖBB subsidiary Rail Tours Touristik GmbH (“Rail Tours”) on the acquisition of a strategic stake in Swiss rail tour operator railtour suisse sa from DER Touristik Suisse SA.

Under the lead of partner Clara Gordon (Corporate/M&A), Wolf Theiss represented ÖBB subsidiary Rail Tours in acquiring 33.4% of shares in railtour suisse from DER Touristik Suisse SA, which belongs to REWE Group. With the acquisition, Rail Tours plans to strengthen and expand its role as Austria’s leading rail package tour provider.

“Rail travel is becoming increasingly attractive and is an important building block in the fight against climate change. We were delighted to be able to support ÖBB again in this transaction in the growth market for sustainable rail travel”

Clara Gordon, Wolf Theiss partner

The Wolf Theiss team, which also included Counsel Stefan Wartinger, Senior Associate Hanna Gerstner (both Competition, Antitrust) and Associates Paul Berger (Corporate/M&A) as well as Miranda Ellison (Competition, Antitrust), was responsible for the preparation and structuring of the purchase process, the performance of the due diligence analysis, the contract drafting and negotiations as well as advising on various antitrust aspects.

In matters involving Swiss law, Wolf Theiss cooperated with the Swiss law firm Schellenberg Wittmer.

DER Touristik Suisse SA will remain the majority shareholder of railtour suisse. Other shareholders from the rail and tourism sectors will not be affected by the transaction, which has already been approved by the European antitrust authorities.