Firm Advises Greenbriar in Nordco Acquisition

Hughes Hubbard put Greenbriar Equity Group on track to acquire railroad maintenance equipment and services company Nordco from the private equity arm of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (Omers). The deal was announced Aug. 19, 2013, but the terms were not disclosed.

This marked the second acquisition since June in which Hughes Hubbard has advised New York-based private equity firm Greenbriar, which focuses on the global transportation industry with more than $2 billion of committed capital. In May, Greenbriar acquired Transplace, a Texas logistics firm for the trucking industry.
 
The latest deal will make Nordco a majority-owned Greenbriar portfolio company. Omers purchased Oak Creek, Wis.-based Nordco in 2009 and helped raise its revenues by more than 44 percent. Nordco provides new, rebuilt and used maintenance-of-way equipment and rail-related products and services, including ultrasonic rail flaw detection and mobile railcar movers.
 
“Nordco has established itself as a leading service provider in the railroad industry, providing critical support to its blue chip customer base,” said Greenbriar director Michael Weiss. “We are excited to be partnering with CEO Bruce Boczkiewicz and his executive team and look forward to further accelerating the company’s growth trajectory organically and through add-on acquisitions.”
 
Among the news outlets reporting on the deal were The Wall Street Journal, Fortune.com and Railway Age, a monthly trade journal for the rail transport industry.
 
Chuck Samuelson led the Hughes Hubbard team, which included Ken Lefkowitz, Sam Sultanik, Steve Greene, Amy G. Dulin, Susan Campbell, Andy Braiterman, Jason Habinsky, Michael Traube, Julie Hanus, Erin DeCecchis, Valerie Clark, Alex Bogdan and David Gershel.