Eversheds Sutherland advises Rolls-Royce on its agreement to sell Bergen Engines to TMH Group

A cross-practice team from Eversheds Sutherland advised Rolls-Royce on the sale of Bergen Engines, a manufacturer of medium speed gas and diesel engines based in Bergen, Norway, to TMH Group for approximately €150m.

Bergen Engines has been a part of Rolls-Royce since 1999 and has approximately 950 employees. Since 1946, it has supplied over 7,000 engines to marine and power generation customers worldwide, of which around 4,000 are still in operation. Bergen Engines is acquired by TMH International, the international branch of TMH Group, based in Russia. TMH Group is a leading engineering company in rail transport technologies and the world’s fourth largest supplier of rail rolling stock.

Warren East, CEO of Rolls-Royce, said:

“We believe that this agreement is a good outcome for the Bergen Engines business and its people. The sale of Bergen Engines is a part of our ongoing portfolio evaluation to create a simpler, more focused group and contributes towards our target to generate at least £2bn from disposals, as announced in August.”

The team was led by Michael Birchall, Partner, Corporate; supported by Eversheds Sutherland’s Corporate team including Tom Milburn, Peter McHugh, Charlotte Singh and Jaanzeb Khan. The team also included Tom Bray, Employment; Colin Askew, Tax; Claire Morgan, Competition; James Ellis, Pensions; and Sam Caunt, Intellectual Property.

The transaction has been approved by the boards of both Rolls-Royce and TMH and is expected to close in the second half of 2021.