Northborne Partners

MINNEAPOLIS, MN, September 6, 2023 – Northborne Partners is pleased to announce it served as the exclusive financial advisor to Pinsly Railroad Company (“Pinsly” or the “Company”). Pinsly has agreed to sell its Massachusetts short line and warehousing business to Gulf & Atlantic Railways (“GAR”), a portfolio company of Macquarie Infrastructure Partners. The two parties entered into a definitive agreement on August 19, 2023. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval; financial terms were not disclosed.

The transaction includes Pinsly Railroad Company’s 18-mile Pioneer Valley Railroad (PVRR) short line and Railroad Distribution Services (RDS) rail-served warehousing and distribution business. PVRR runs from Westfield, MA to Holyoke, MA with interline access to two railroads – CSX and Pan Am Southern. RDS operates two rail-served warehouses with 140,000 square feet of indoor storage and 3.5 acres of outdoor storage. PVRR and RDS combined to serve more than 30 customers across a diverse mix of end markets.

Gulf & Atlantic Railways is an independent freight railroad and rail services management company headquartered in Jacksonville, FL. GAR currently owns and operates five regional and short line railroads serving six states. The addition of PVRR adds an 18-mile short line to GAR’s 711-mile system, while RDS adds a differentiated full-service warehouse, reload and distribution center.

John Levine, Pinsly Railroad Company’s CEO commented, “We are very pleased to have reached an agreement to transition our Massachusetts business to GAR. Pinsly has a long-standing commitment to safety, service, business development and capital investment. We believe GAR will be a great steward of our business and that Pinsly will add to the already outstanding and growing GAR rail transportation infrastructure platform.” Regarding Northborne’s involvement, John Levine added, “The Northborne team brought tremendous M&A expertise and short line industry experience to this transaction – their advice and guidance throughout this process were invaluable in helping us achieve this excellent outcome.”

Ben Marks, Managing Director at Northborne, commented “Pinsly Railroad Company has a longstanding, exceptional reputation in the short line rail industry. It has been a privilege working with John Levine and his team to find an ideal partner to grow the business into the future.”

Bulkley, Richardson and Gelinas and Doherty, Wallace, Pillsbury and Murphy served as legal counsel to Pinsly Railroad Company.

About Northborne Partners

Northborne Partners is a preeminent middle market investment banking firm focused on providing M&A advisory services to companies in the food & consumer, healthcare, industrials and business services sectors. It specializes in advising private-equity-owned and closely held businesses on complex sell-side transactions. Northborne Partners is headquartered in Minneapolis, MN. For more information, please visit https://northborne.com/.

About Pinsly Railroad Company

Through its operating subsidiaries of Pioneer Valley Railroad (PVRR) and Railroad Distribution Services (RDS), Pinsly Railroad Company provides service to direct-rail customers and non-rail served accounts via transload. PVRR and RDS combine to serve more than 30 customers across a diverse mix of end markets. Pinsly Railroad Company is headquartered in Westfield, MA. For more information, please visit https://pinsly.com/.

About Gulf & Atlantic Railways

Gulf & Atlantic Railways currently owns and operates five regional and short line railroads serving six states. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, GAR offers freight services, transloading, railcar storage and industrial development opportunities and is an important contributor to the local communities and economies in which it operates. For more information, please visit www.garailways.com.