FEC parent co. sold to SoftBank of Japan

[MEC407]

From Progressive Railroading:

Fortress Investment Group, the parent of Florida East Coast Railway (FECR) and TRAC Intermodal, is being acquired by SoftBank Group Corp. (SBG) of Japan for $3.3 billion in cash, the companies announced this week.
. . .
What the acquisition might mean for FECR is not yet clear. Last fall, Fortress was reported by Bloomberg to be exploring a sale of the railway, which it acquired in 2007.

Read the rest of the article at: http://www.progressiverailroading.com/s ... oup--50864" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Ridgefielder]

It's an odd acquisition to be honest. Softbank are internet & telecom guys. Among other things they own Yahoo Japan. Here in the States, they have a controlling (83%) stake in Sprint Communications-- a company which ironically started life as an arm of the Southern Pacific.

I do find it hard to imagine a Japanese company being hostile to rail in general, and passenger rail in particular, though.

[MEC407]

Good points.

Even if they're not hostile to rail, perhaps they'll try more aggressively to sell off FEC, CMQ, et al. — something that Fortress had been thinking about doing anyway (in the case of FEC, at least).

[electricron]

I don't think the anti-monopoly guardians in the Justice Department and other appropriate Federal agencies would allow selling the FEC to CSX, but NS, BNSF, KCS, and UP would probably be allowed. That's assuming they want to sell FEC and not keep it. This could be great news for the Brightline extension to Orlando, 'cause I'm assuming Soft Bank can sell the securities needed to raise the capital to build it "easier".