INTERPOOL BUYS TRANSAMERICA CONTAINER UNIT

INTERPOOL BUYS TRANSAMERICA CONTAINER UNIT    Interpool Inc., a container-leasing company based in Princeton, N.J., said on Friday that it will acquire the North American intermodal division of Transamerica Leasing from Aegon NV and Transamerica Finance Corp.
   According to Interpool, the purchase price is $675 million in cash. Aegon, a Dutch insurer, bought Transamerica Corp. in 1999.
   Martin Tuchman, chairman and chief executive officer of Interpool, said that the company’s acquisition will “expand our chassis fleet and broaden our management and customer service teams.”
   Interpool will add 65,000 chassis to its present fleet of 100,000, and will buy 23,000 trailers and 17,000 domestic containers from Transamerica Leasing, substantially augmenting its current fleet of 8,000 units.
   In 1999, Interpool attempted without success to buy the Cronos Group of New York, another container leasing company. A bid by Interpool for Xtra Corp., a Boston-based renter of highway containers, also went unconsummated in 1998.
   Acquisition of the Aegon-Transamerica unit “is a good move because it makes [Interpool] a major player in the chassis business,” said Burton Strauss, an analyst for Dominick & Dominick.
   Interpool had 1999 sales of $217.8 million. Profit from operations last year was $28.7 million, or $1.01 a share. The company will finance part of its container purchase through Salomon Smith Barney Inc. and Citicorp North America.