Iowa Pacific Holdings Agrees to Sell Arizona Eastern Railway Company

Chicago – August 1, 2011 – Iowa Pacific Holdings, LLC (IPH) has agreed to sell the Arizona Eastern Railway Company (AZER) to Genesee and Wyoming Inc. (NYSE:GWR) in a cash transaction of $90.1 million subject to post-closing adjustments.

AZER was chartered in 1895 as the Gila Valley, Globe and Northern, and was constructed between Bowie and Miami, AZ, about 133 miles. In the last two decades of the 20th Century, it changed hands several times, and when IPH purchased it in 2004, it was in severely deteriorated condition. IPH worked with all stakeholders to improve track and bridge conditions, and to develop additional freight business for the line. In 2008, AZER purchased an additional line between Clifton, AZ and Lordsburg NM, and connected through trackage rights over the Union Pacific Railroad (NYSE:UNP) to the original Bowie line. As a result of all these actions, since 2004 AZER’s freight traffic has grown dramatically, track speeds have increased, and there has been a significant reduction in derailments and a corresponding improvement in other safety metrics.

Ed Ellis, President of IPH, said, “We are grateful to the hard working men and women of AZER for their diligence and creativity in assisting us with the turnaround of this important rail property in Eastern Arizona. We also acknowledge the instrumental contributions of the major customer, Freeport McMoRan Copper and Gold, toward the rehabilitation of the track and bridges. We are confident that GWR will take Arizona Eastern to the next level in service and condition of the physical plant, and are pleased to hand the reins to GWR.”

IPH is a privately-held operator of freight and passenger shortline railroads in the US and UK, and focuses its acquisitions on turnaround opportunities.