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Genesee & Wyoming acquires more short line railroads

Genesee & Wyoming acquires more short line railroads

Genesee & Wyoming (G&W) said it has acquired two short line rail systems in Ohio and Georgia.

   The Greenwich, Conn.-based company said it completed its acquisition of the Ohio Central Railroad System for $234.3 million in cash, subject to adjustment for final working capital. The cash purchase price includes $7.5 million of contingent consideration that G&W has placed into escrow, which will be paid to the seller upon satisfaction of certain conditions.

   Ohio Central is actually a system of 10 short line railroads. It employs more than 170 workers, operates more than 445 miles of track and owns 64 locomotives. The railroads handle about 140,000 annual carloads, primarily in the coal, steel and solid waste industries.

   G&W said it has also acquired the Georgia Southwestern Railroad Inc. for $16.5 million in cash and the assumption of $5.4 million in debt, subject to adjustment for final working capital.

   Headquartered in Dawson, Ga., the Georgia Southwestern operates over 220 miles of track between White Oak, Ala., and Smithville, Ga.; Cuthbert, Ga., and Bainbridge, Ga.; and in and around Columbus, Ga. The Georgia Southwestern connects to another G&W property, the Chattahoochee Industrial Railroad in Saffold, Ga., via trackage rights.

   The Georgia Southwestern has 20 employees and 10 locomotives and carries about 10,000 carloads per year, primarily serving customers in the peanut, general agriculture, aggregate, animal feed and ethanol storage markets. It interchanges with Norfolk Southern, CSXT and the Heart of Georgia Railroad.

   The Georgia Southwestern will be managed as part of G&W’s Southern Region under the leadership of Gerald T. Gates, G&W’s senior vice president.

   G&W owns and operates short line and regional freight railroads in the United States, Canada, Australia and the Netherlands and owns a minority interest in a railroad in Bolivia. Operations include 63 railroads organized in nine regions, with more than 6,700 miles of owned and leased track and about 3,000 additional miles under track access arrangements. GWI provides rail service at 16 ports in North America and Europe and performs contract coal loading and railcar switching for industrial customers.