Shareholders at Western Central Road & Rail in Eston, Sask., have approved the sale of their company to Alliance Pulse Processors Inc.
WCRR officials say the proposed sale, first announced in April, received overwhelming approval from shareholders during a special meeting held May 28 in Eston.
Under the deal, Alliance will acquire WCRR’s assets, including five modern producer car loading sites and a subsidiary marketing arm, Goals Marketing Inc.
The producer car loading facilities, all in Saskatchewan, are located at Eston, Laporte, Lucky Lake, Beechy and Dinsmore.
Read Also
National Day for Truth and Reconciliation: Acknowledging the past, seeking a better future
How can the treaty rights of Indigenous peoples be honoured in a way that gives them a proper seat at the table when it comes to farming in Canada?
Each site has 3,000 tonnes of bin storage — enough to load 30 rail cars — and load-out capacity of 540 tonnes an hour.
In a May 28 news release, WCRR said the $22 million deal is expected to close on June 2, pursuant to certain terms and conditions.
The loading sites are serviced by Big Sky Rail. Loaded cars are shipped to export position via the Canadian National Railway’s network.
“I believe this is a fitting end to the dynamic WCRR story,” said WCRR’s outgoing president, Rob Lobdell.
“WCRR shareholders will receive strong value for their shares (and) the infrastructure that we worked so hard to build and preserve will continue, on a long term basis, to be fully utilized by AGT to provide local marketing and delivery opportunities for area producers.”
The sale of WCRR’s assets is the latest in a series of sales involving farmer-owned grain handling facilities on the Prairies.
The list of farmer-owned terminals that have been sold since 2011 includes the Weyburn Inland Terminal in Weyburn, Sask., to Parrish & Heimbecker, the Lethbridge Inland Terminal in Lethbridge to Viterra, the Great Sandhills Terminal at Leader, Sask., to CWB, the Prairie West Terminal at Plenty, Sask., to CWB, and the North East Terminal at Wadena, Sask., to Richardson.
Lobdell said it is fitting that WCRR’s assets, which were built and financed by farmers, are being sold to a Saskatchewan based company that has become such a global success story.”
Alliance is a subsidiary of AGT Food and Ingredients.
Revenue from the sale will be distributed to the WCRR’s 1,900 shareholders, who are primarily farmers.
It is estimated that shareholders will receive $310 to $340 per share. In the initial share offering, most shares were purchased for $100 to $120 a share.
Contact brian.cross@producer.com
