Alpenglow finalizes first short-line rail acquisition

Alpenglow Rail LLC, which is backed by private equity firm Stonecourt Capital, completed its acquisition of VIP Rail LLC, a short-line railroad located in Sarnia, Ontario’s chemical valley.    Denver-based Alpenglow Rail LLC, a freight rail company focused on short line rail businesses and related transportation assets, completed its acquisition of VIP Rail LLC, according to a press release issued by Alpenglow Rail.
   Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
   The transaction is the first for Alpenglow Rail, which is backed by New York-based private equity firm Stonecourt Capital.
   VIP Rail is a short line rail business located in Sarnia, Ontario’s chemical valley, offering switching, transloading, railcar storage, railcar inspection, cleaning, repair, warehousing and trucking.
   VIP Rail’s 50-acre site offers one of the only industrial transloading facilities in the Ontario-Michigan corridor, and provides direct access to Class I railways Canadian National and CSX, according to its website.
   Alpenglow Rail is comprised of a management team of four experienced railroad executives, while VIP employs approximately 30-40 depending on the time of year and peak rail volumes.
   In regards to job retention following the acquisition, Alpenglow Rail CEO Rich Montgomery told American Shipper, “Alpenglow does not have plans to make any cuts. In fact, we hope to add employees soon, since we have several new customer growth opportunities on the horizon.”
   Alpenglow Rail said it is “actively seeking acquisitions of and partnerships with short line railroads and related transportation businesses.”
   “VIP Rail has been approached by many companies over the years, but we felt Alpenglow was uniquely suited to be both creative on this complicated transaction and an excellent partner in the growth of the company,” said Jon McEachran, president of VIP Rail.