CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--FreightCar America, Inc. (NASDAQ: RAIL) today announced that it has
signed a definitive agreement to acquire the business assets of DTE Rail
Services, a non-regulated subsidiary of DTE Energy, for approximately
$23.2 million. This acquisition furthers the Company???s strategic growth
initiative to expand its presence in the railcar services sector. The
transaction is expected to close early in the fourth quarter of 2010.
“We are pleased to announce our definitive agreement with DTE Rail
Services”
Once the transaction is completed, the acquired business will bolster
FreightCar America???s existing parts and repair service capabilities. The
collective offering will provide repair and maintenance, inspection, and
fleet management services for all types of freight-carrying railcars.
Upon closing, the acquired business will be known as FreightCar Rail
Services, LLC.
???We are pleased to announce our definitive agreement with DTE Rail
Services,??? said Ed Whalen, President and CEO of FreightCar America. The
expansion of our railcar services activities will diversify our revenue
sources and will serve to lessen the cyclicality of our earnings.???
Whalen continued, ???Going forward, we expect that this addition will
expand our customer base and strengthen existing relationships by
significantly enhancing the Company???s involvement in the entire railcar
life cycle. The Company will be well positioned to service coal-carrying
railcars moving through the Powder River Basin in the Western United
States. A majority of these coal cars were manufactured by FreightCar
America. We look forward to working with the Rail Services team to grow
our service offerings.???
DTE Rail Services has operations in Colorado, Indiana and Nebraska and
services freight cars and unit coal trains utilizing key rail corridors
in the Midwest and Western regions of the United States. The new
business will add approximately 130 skilled employees to the Company.
The proposed acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions. DTE
Rail Services produces current annualized revenues of approximately
$25.0 million and FreightCar America expects the transaction to be
immediately accretive to its earnings.
About FreightCar America, Inc.
FreightCar America, Inc. manufactures, repairs and rebuilds railroad
freight cars, with particular expertise in coal-carrying railcars,
leases freight cars through its JAIX Leasing Company subsidiary, and
supplies railcar maintenance, repair parts and management services. In
addition to coal cars, FreightCar America designs and builds bulk
commodity cars, flat cars, mill gondola cars, intermodal cars, coil
steel cars and motor vehicle carriers. It is headquartered in Chicago,
Illinois and has facilities in Danville, Illinois, Johnstown,
Pennsylvania and Roanoke, Virginia. More information about FreightCar
America is available on its website at www.freightcaramerica.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains statements that are ???forward-looking
statements??? as defined under the Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements represent our estimates and
assumptions only as of the date of this press release. Our actual
results may differ materially from the results described in or
anticipated by our forward-looking statements due to certain risks and
uncertainties. These potential risks and uncertainties include, among
other things: the cyclical nature of our business; adverse economic and
market conditions; fluctuating costs of raw materials, including steel
and aluminum, and delays in the delivery of raw materials; our ability
to maintain relationships with our suppliers of railcar components; our
reliance upon a small number of customers that represent a large
percentage of our sales; the variable purchase patterns of our customers
and the timing of completion, delivery and acceptance of customer
orders; the highly competitive nature of our industry; the risk of lack
of acceptance of our new railcar offerings by our customers; and the
additional risk factors described in our filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. We expressly disclaim any duty to provide updates
to any forward-looking statements made in this press release, whether as
a result of new information, future events or otherwise.