The owner of the Chicago, Fort Wayne & Eastern Railroad is being sold. Genesee & Wyoming announced Monday that it’s set to be acquired by Brookfield Infrastructure and investment firm GIC for about $8.4 billion. It would make Genesee & Wyoming a privately-held company.
G&W currently owns or leases 120 short line railroads in North America, Australia, and Europe. That includes the Chicago, Fort Wayne & Eastern Railroad, which runs across northern Indiana, through the local communities of Hamlet, Plymouth, and Bourbon. The railroad has been a particular concern in Hamlet, where the town council has been complaining about the condition of the Starke Street railroad crossing for years.
In a press release, Genesee & Wyoming said that under its new ownership, the company will continue to focus on “world class safety and outstanding service.” The company says the sale was unanimously approved by its board of directors, but is still pending stockholder and regulatory approval. They expect the sale to close by early next year.
