AGT Food and Ingredients announces sale of Shortline Rail and Bulk Handling Facility

MobilEx Terminal Ltd., a port and loading facility for grain and potash located in Thunder Bay, Ont.

Intermobil, a privately-operated intermodal terminal located in Regina, Sask., featuring CN service to the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf Coasts and CN’s intermodal terminals.

Bulk loading infrastructure includes Saskatchewan facilities in Condie, Aylesbury, Delisle, Dinsmore, Lucky Lake, Beechy, Elrose, Kyle, Eston and Laporte for the receiving of grains, canola and pulses from farmers in the region.

The assets included in the sale of shares to GCM Grosvenor are critical infrastructure in the Saskatchewan agricultural sector, with transportation of agri-products from the Regina Plains, West Central and Central Saskatchewan regions, an area that is one of the most important grain, canola and pulse growing regions of the world.

This infrastructure connects to CN main rail lines, moving Saskatchewan agri-products to coastal ports and markets around the globe. To ensure that the rail and bulk infrastructure included in this sale continues to grow and improve for producers and communities along the line and corridor, AGT has signed a 20-year agreement with MobilGrain to continue to use the infrastructure for its global origination and supply chain programs for export.

AGT President and CEO Murad Al-Katib said this will continue to provide Saskatchewan farmers with options for marketing their grains, canola and pulses to world markets through the unique collection of community-based assets.

“AGT is thrilled to enter this partnership with GCM Grosvenor, a key infrastructure investor who wants to hold the infrastructure for the long term, improve and grow it to build on the work that MobilGrain and AGT have done over the past two decades operating these assets,” Al-Katib said. “With the planned Lake Diefenbaker Irrigation Project adding growth to the already strong Regina Plains, West Central and Central growing regions, there are great opportunities ahead for all involved, including GCM Grosvenor, AGT, CN and farmers and producers who depend on this rail service. The sale returns capital to AGT, which presently generates over $3 billion in revenue each year.

Al-Katib said this will see the continued partnership with Fairfax Financial Holdings in creating a global agriculture growth story, including expanding the global packaged foods business.

The long-term agreement with GCM Grosvenor and MobilGrain means AGT will remain a mainstay in the communities along the railway, according to Matthew Rinklin, Managing Director, Infrastructure at GCM Grosvenor.

“This transaction underscores Saskatchewan’s essential role in the global economy as a key producer of critical minerals and agricultural products. Integrating MobilGrain’s shortline rail with CN’s network creates significant growth potential, while Intermobil and MobilEx terminals will continue supporting agricultural and potash exports,” Rinklin said.

CN Executive Vice-President and Chief Commercial Officer Remi G. Lalonde said the company has had a long and successful partnership with AGT and MobilGrain in the Saskatchewan shortline railway corridor.

“We look forward to building on this successful collaboration to grow our business by working with GCM Grosvenor and MobilGrain to further improve first-mile service, and to bring more of Saskatchewan’s potash and agricultural products to the world,” Lalonde said.

Financial terms and details of the sale and subsequent agreement have not been disclosed. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions and is expected to close in late 2024 or early 2025.

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alice.mcfarlane@pattisonmedia.com

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by Alice McFarlane

AGT Food and Ingredients announces sale of Shortline Rail and Bulk Handling Facility

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