GREENWICH, Conn., Oct. 1, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Genesee & Wyoming Inc. (GWI) announced today that it has completed its acquisition of 10 short line railroads known as the Ohio Central Railroad System (OCR) 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 GWI has placed into escrow, which will be paid to the seller upon satisfaction of certain conditions.
OCR has more than 170 employees, operates over 445 miles of track and owns 64 locomotives. The railroads handle approximately 140,000 annual carloads, primarily in the coal, steel and solid waste industries.
GWI financed the cash purchase price for OCR by amending and expanding the size of its senior credit facility from $256 million to $570 million. The amended credit facility closed concurrent with the completion of the OCR acquisition. The amended credit facility is comprised of a US$300 million revolving loan, a US$240 million term loan and a Canadian dollar equivalent of a US$30 million Canadian term loan, all of which are due in 2013. Initial borrowings are priced at LIBOR plus 2.0%. Bank of America, N.A. acted as sole lead arranger and administrative agent for the previous credit facility and played the same role in the amended credit facility.
Following the acquisitions of OCR and Georgia Southwestern Railroad, also announced today, GWI has approximately $200 million of available borrowing capacity under the amended credit facility, which is available for general corporate purposes, including acquisitions.
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 63 railroads organized in nine regions, with more than 6,700 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.
"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements in this press release regarding Genesee & Wyoming's business which are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report or Form 10-K for the most recently ended fiscal year.
CONTACT: Michael E. Williams, Director, Corporate Communications Genesee & Wyoming Inc. 1-203-629-3722 Web site: http://www.gwrr.com/
