BRANDON, Manitoba – Alberta’s provincial pension fund will acquire Cando Rail & Terminals from a Canadian private equity firm.
Cando, which operates more than 40 industrial switching facilities, nine owned terminals, and one short line, experienced rapid growth while under the control of TorQuest Partners.
The deal, announced today (July 20), is the latest in a string of short line railroad acquisitions by infrastructure funds.
Cando links large industrial shippers with Class I railroads. It also operates the Central Manitoba Railway, a 67-mile short line in the Winnipeg area.
The company employs 900 people and owns more than 100 locomotives. It has switching operations across Canada, as well as in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Arkansas. No changes to the company’s operations or management are anticipated as a result of the transaction.
Since 2018, TorQuest and Cando management have overseen a major expansion of the company’s operations. Revenue has more than doubled and earnings have more than tripled, the companies said.
“TorQuest has been an excellent partner for us,” Cando CEO Brian Cornick said in a statement. “Their commitment to investing in our business and our people has provided Cando with an exceptional platform for continued growth and success.”
AIMCo is a global infrastructure investor that operates at arms-length from the government of Alberta. It invests on behalf of 32 pension, endowment, and government funds in the province.
“Cando is the type of platform investment that has become the hallmark of AIMCo’s infrastructure portfolio. With this investment, our clients add one of Canada’s most successful rail platforms to their infrastructure portfolios,” said Ben Hawkins, head of infrastructure, renewables and sustainable Investing at AIMCo. “We believe in Cando’s incredible potential and look forward to collaborating with their exceptional management to realize a continued track record of growth.”
The transaction is expected to close by the end of the year.
With the Quebec pension funds funding aircraft makers, transit companies and other real estate, was it any surprise that yet another Canadian pension fund would follow suit?