Canadian company partners to buy USA Rail

TORONTO – Connor, Clark & Lunn Infrastructure (CC&L Infrastructure) and its partner, Alpenglow Rail LLC (Alpenglow), have acquired USA Rail Terminals from the High Roller Group and Jim Donnan Companies, both family-controlled investment companies based in Center, Texas.

USA Rail is a short-line rail logistics business, which provides first- and last-mile rail transportation and storage solutions to customers in the Gulf Coast region of the United States.

USA Rail’s two rail terminals, Port Allen, Louisiana, and Port Arthur, Texas, provide a range of rail services, including railcar storage, switching, transloading and railcar cleaning solutions.

The terminals operate in industrial markets. The 85-acre Port Allen terminal is located in West Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and is served by the Union Pacific Railroad. Today, this facility stores over 550 railcars and expects to expand its capability to store over 2,000 railcars. The Port Allen facility switches over 15,000 carloads per year, transloads a diverse commodity mix, and provides railcar cleaning solutions.

The Port Arthur terminal covers 51 acres in Beaumont, Texas, served by the Kansas City Southern Railroad. It has capacity to store over 900 railcars, switches over 15,000 carloads per year, and provides a full suite of rail services.

The business has long-term take-or-pay contracts with several key customers that support a strong and stable revenue base.

“USA Rail and the High Roller team had a lot of vision and built a great business. The facilities are state-of-the-art and built to last. The USA Rail assets are strategically located in excellent industrial markets and are well-positioned for both defensibility and growth,” said Alpenglow’s CEO, Rich Montgomery.

USA Rail represents the second set of rail assets that CC&L Infrastructure and Alpenglow have acquired through their partnership. Together, the partners also own and operate VIP Rail, a business that comprises two railcar storage, transloading, railcar cleaning, and switching companies in Sarnia, Ontario, served by Canadian National and CSX Railroads.

“Alpenglow is pleased to acquire further rail assets alongside the CC&L Infrastructure team,” noted Rich Montgomery, CEO at Alpenglow.

“USA Rail is a great addition to our portfolio given the synergies with our existing business and a number of potential growth opportunities. CC&L Infrastructure’s focus on owning and operating assets for the long-term allows us to maintain the legacy of the railroad businesses we acquire. We look forward to extending our best-in-class operating model to these terminals.”

CC&L Infrastructure invests in middle-market infrastructure and infrastructure-like asset. Alpenglow Rail develops and manages short line rail businesses and related transportation assets across North America.