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.
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Each site has 3,000 tonnes of bin storage, which is enough to load 30 rail cars, and loading capacity of 540 tonnes an hour.
WCRR said in a May 28 news release that the $22 million deal was expected to close June 2, depending on certain terms and conditions.
The loading sites are serviced by Big Sky Rail, and loaded cars are shipped to export position on the Canadian National Railway’s network.
“I believe this is a fitting end to the dynamic WCRR story,” said Rob Lobdell, the company’s outgoing president. “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.”
Lobdell said it is fitting that WCRR’s assets, which were built and financed by farmers, are being sold to a Sask-atchewan 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.
