G&W to buy Columbus & Greenville

friscobob Apr 30, 2008

  1. friscobob

    friscobob Staff Member

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    Genesee & Wyoming Signs Agreement to Acquire CAGY Industries, Inc.
    Press Release - April 29, 2008

    GREENWICH, Conn.-- Genesee & Wyoming Inc. announced today that it has
    signed an agreement to acquire CAGY Industries, Inc. for
    approximately $78.4 million in cash. The final purchase price will be
    adjusted for working capital at the time of closing. In addition, GWI
    has agreed to pay contingent consideration of up to $18.6 million upon
    satisfaction of certain conditions over the next two years. The
    acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, including the
    expiration of the 30-day notice period required by the Surface
    Transportation Board for GWI to obtain authority to control CAGY. GWI
    expects to close the acquisition and commence operations on June 1, 2008.

    Founded in 1975 and headquartered in Columbus, Miss., CAGY is the
    parent company of three short-line railroads, Columbus & Greenville
    Railway (C&G), Chattooga & Chickamauga Railway (CCKY) and Luxapalila
    Valley Railroad (LXVR). CAGY's three railroads employ 48 people, own
    and operate a fleet of 22 locomotives, own and lease more than 280
    miles of track and are expected to haul more than 26,000 carloads of
    freight traffic over the next 12 months.

    C&G operates more than 80 miles in the state of Mississippi, from the
    Port of Greenville on the Mississippi River to Greenwood, where it
    interchanges with Canadian National. C&G also operates between
    Columbus, Miss., and West Point, Miss. In addition, C&G operates
    throughout the Columbus, Miss., area and provides connections to
    Norfolk Southern, Kansas City Southern, CSXT, BNSF, Alabama & Gulf
    Coast Railway and Golden Triangle Railroad, as well as LXVR, its
    sister railroad.

    Customers of C&G include (i) major feed suppliers to the catfish and
    pork industries, including Delta Western, Fishbelt Feeds and Prestage
    Farms, (ii) major milling operations in the rice industry, including
    Producers Rice and MasterFoods, (iii) several facilities serving the
    agriculture industry including PYCO Industries, ConAgra, Farmer's
    Grain and Platte Chemical, and (iv) other customers including USG
    Corporation, Columbus Brick and a new Scott Petroleum bio-diesel
    plant. In addition, C&G is one of two railroads that serve the new
    $850-million SeverCorr electric arc furnace (EAF) steel facility in
    Columbus, Miss., which is 100-percent- owned by Severstal. SeverCorr
    commenced production in the second half of 2007 and is expected to
    complete an expansion in 2010 that would increase annual capacity from
    1.5 million tons to 3.0 million tons.

    LXVR runs 36 miles from Columbus, Miss., to Belk, Ala., and serves
    both Georgia-Pacific and Weyerhaeuser lumber mills and SDR, a new
    steel dust recycling facility. CCKY operates over two branch lines
    that run south from Chattanooga, Tenn., for a combined 65 miles to
    Hedges, Ga., and Lyerly, Ga. CCKY serves both Reichhold Chemical
    (subsidiary of Dow Chemical) and Shaw Industries (subsidiary of
    Berkshire Hathaway).

    "Over the past three decades, CAGY has built an impressive short-line
    railroad organization, " GWI Chief Executive Officer John C. Hellmann
    said. "With the support of local communities, customers and employees,
    CAGY has succeeded in revitalizing its rail infrastructure and
    substantially increasing rail traffic. The addition of CAGY to GWI
    will expand our already significant presence in the southeastern
    United States and further diversify our commodity base. We are pleased
    that Roger Bell, who has been the architect of CAGY's success as
    president and CEO, will continue to lead the rail operations as part
    of the GWI family of railroads."

    GWI expects to fund the acquisition under its $225-million senior
    revolving credit facility. Following the acquisition, GWI will have
    approximately $117 million of remaining funding capacity, inclusive of
    cash. As of March 31, 2008, pro forma for the acquisition, GWI's
    consolidated net debt to capitalization is expected to be
    approximately 43 percent including contingent consideration with net
    debt to pro forma EBITDA of approximately 2.4x. GWI expects the
    acquisition to be immediately accretive to its earnings per share and
    free cash flow.

    GWI 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 currently
    include 48 railroads organized in eight regions, with more than 5,700
    miles of owned and leased track and approximately 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.
     

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