American Industrial Transport (AITX), an affiliate of ITE Management, an investment firm specializing in industrial transportation assets and related infrastructure, completed the acquisition of certain of the railcar assets and operations formerly owned by rail leasing company SMBC Rail Services from SMBC Americas Holdings, a member of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group.
Bank of America led the acquisition financing for the transaction as administrative agent and was among the group of arrangers and lenders, which also included Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, Royal Bank of Canada, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Citi.
American Industrial Transport is a railcar provider to the industrial freight shipping market. Following the acquisition, American Industrial Transport added a fleet of more than 50,000 railcars as well as new customers and new members to its rail industry team.
American Industrial Transport is a solution provider with complementary services spanning railcar leasing, fleet management, repair, maintenance, technology and other related services. American Industrial Transport and its affiliates have expanded the company’s leasing portfolio to nearly 120,000 railcars. In conjunction with its North American repair network, American Industrial Transport offers shippers and railroads the services to keep their products and rail logistics on track. Its dedicated repair and maintenance network includes 20 owned and operated locations across full-service facilities, mobile services, onsite customer partnerships and railcar storage. Over the last 18 months, American Industrial Transport has expanded this network, including new full-service tank car facilities at its Brookhaven, MS, facility.
Following the acquisition, Michael McCarthy was named president of American Industrial Transport. McCarthy spent the last 10 years building SMBC Rail Services, running its commercial leasing and portfolio management business and serving as the CEO for the last two years. Before that, McCarthy held senior roles at GE Rail Services and GATX.
In addition, Texas Howard was named chief operating officer of American Industrial Transport. Howard has served as president for the last 15 months and has spearheaded a growth and capital investment cycle across leasing and repair. In this new role, Howard will oversee all U.S. and European fleet and repair operations, engineering, quality assurance, environmental health and safety, and human resources.
“I am incredibly excited to join and help lead the American Industrial Transport team. It is a top organization with a focus on customer service, safety and quality. As supply chains continue to become more dynamic, we hear from freight shippers that they want trusted partnerships with full-service leaders like American Industrial Transport,” McCarthy said. “American Industrial Transport’s focus is to work with our customers to meet and exceed their goals via integrated scale and expertise across railcar leasing, logistics, repair services and business transparency.”
“No one in the industry has shown the conviction and commitment to investing in resources like AITX and its financial partner, ITE Management,” Howard said. “With these additions to our fleet, operations and leadership team, we are further positioning AITX for greater success by leveraging skills and experiences of the combined teams. Working alongside Michael and the rest of the AITX team, I could not be more excited about our next chapter of continued growth.”
Deutsche Bank Securities served as lead financial advisor, Citi served as senior financial advisor, and J.P. Morgan, Goldman Sachs and RBC Capital Markets also provided advisory services to ITE Management for this transaction. Meanwhile, Willkie Farr & Gallagher and Vedder Price served as legal advisors to ITE Management on this transaction.
