McDermott advises OpenGate Capital on the acquisition of Merak, Knorr-Bremse's global rail HVAC business

McDermott Will & Schulte has advised OpenGate Capital, a global private equity firm, on its acquisition of Knorr-Bremse’s global rail HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) business unit, Merak, from Knorr-Bremse, a publicly traded Munich-based supplier to the truck and rail industries.

The transaction involves OpenGate’s acquisition of all of Merak’s business operations and its approximately 1,500 employees. The acquisition is subject to customary regulatory approvals and other closing conditions and is expected to close by the end of the 2026 calendar year.

Headquartered in Getafe, Spain, Merak is a leading global provider of HVAC systems for rail vehicles, with facilities across Spain, Austria, Australia, the United States, China and India. Built on more than 60 years of engineering expertise, Merak serves a global installed base of more than 140,000 units and maintains long-standing relationships with many of the world’s leading rolling stock manufacturers.

OpenGate Capital, founded in 2005, is a private equity firm headquartered in New York and Paris that specializes in the acquisition and operation of companies. To date, OpenGate has completed more than 40 platform acquisitions in Europe and North America.

The multidisciplinary, cross-border McDermott team was led by partner and European Head of Finance, Aymen Mahmoud, alongside partners Johannes Eckhardt and Philipp Grenzebach. The team also included counsel Giulia Venanzoni, as well as associate Darius M. Mosleh and Carlota Huth. In addition, Fabrizio Faina advised on corporate aspects; Ryan Clarke, William Gibson-Dancer, Emily Rees and Alexander Klein advised on finance, Florian Schiefer, Marcus Fischer and Merlyn von Hugo advised on tax; Christian Krohs, Stephane Dionnet and Laura Stammwitz advised on antitrust; Thomas Gennert and Janek Joosten advised on employment; and Steffen Woitz advised on intellectual property matters.