CK Investments has agreed to purchase Eversholt Rail Group from it current owners, a consortium comprising 3i Infrastructure plc, Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners and STAR Capital Partners

CK Investments is the vehicle of Asia’s richest man, Li Ka-shing, with the deal believed to be worth £2.5 billion.

Eversholt Rail owns approximately 28 per cent of the UK’s passenger train fleet and has been under the consortium’s ownership since 2010.

Completion of the transaction remains conditional only upon receiving clearance from the European Commission under the EU Merger Regulation.

It is anticipated that the transaction will close in March 2015.

Mary Kenny, chief executive of Eversholt Rail, said: “Eversholt Rail has performed strongly, both operationally and financially, under its current ownership providing, managing and maintaining key UK rail assets.

“We look forward to continuing our success with CKI, who have extensive experience in managing infrastructure assets and are highly supportive of our strategy and approach.”

Eversholt Rail owns about a third of the passenger train fleet in the UK, with the company leasing rolling stock to 11 train operators.

It has dominated the market, alongside Angel Trains and Porterbrook, since the government privatised railways back in 1994.

3i Infrastructure, Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners, and STAR Capital Partners bought Eversholt for £2.1 billion from HSBC in 2010.