Jaguar Transport, Ontario pension fund acquire five short lines, construction firm

Jaguar Transport Holdings has acquired five short lines and a railroad construction and maintenance company from The Western Group, the companies announced yesterday.

The railroads being acquired are Cimarron Valley Railroad in southwest Kansas, northern Oklahoma and eastern Colorado; Washington Eastern Railroad in eastern Washington; Texas and Eastern Railroad, with operations between Rusk and Palestine in Texas, along with the Texas State Railroad; Southwestern Railroad in southern New Mexico; and Oregon Eastern Railroad in eastern Oregon.

Jaguar also will acquire The Western Railroad Builders, a railroad engineering, design, construction and maintenance firm that serves industrial and railroad clients. Headquartered in Ogden, Utah, The Western Group was founded in 1972 by Dave Durbano.

Jaguar is partnered with the OPSEU Pension Plan Trust Fund, a public trust fund in Ontario, Canada. Founded in 2018, Jaguar is a transportation and logistics service company based in Joplin, Missouri.

The acquisition closed Nov. 1. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Jaguar's entrepreneurial approach focuses on customers and the ability to identify new growth opportunities, Jaguar officials said in a press release.

"We are proud and excited to have the opportunity to serve the customers, communities and partners involved with these properties," said Jaguar Chief Executive Officer Stu Towner.

The company's commercial team is "industry and commodity specific, not property focused," added Jaguar Senior Vice President of Commercial Development Tim Enayati.

"This gives them a deeper knowledge about specific industries, and the ability to better understand our customers and providing meaningful logistics solutions," Enayati said.