GATX Corp. announced that it and Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. have received all required regulatory clearances to complete the transaction to acquire Wells Fargo’s rail operating lease portfolio.
The transaction announced in May will be completed through a joint venture between GATX (NYSE: GATX) and Brookfield Infrastructure (NYSE: BIP), the former said in a release, to close on or about Jan. 1.
The joint venture will purchase approximately 105,000 railcars for $4.4 billion; Brookfield, which owns short line operator Genesee & Wyoming, separately will acquire the Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) rail portfolio of approximately 23,000 cars and 400 locomotives, according to GATX.
Industry analysts estimate that since 2016 and the adoption of Precision Scheduled Railroading to maximize assets, Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP), Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC) and CSX (NASDAQ: CSX) have idled or sold 1,500 locomotives and 30,000 railcars.
GATX will own 30% of the joint venture and manage equipment across the transactions. It has an option to eventually acquire 100% ownership of the joint venture.
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