iCON Infrastructure is planning to acquire a 40 percent stake in Iowa Interstate Railroad (IAIS) via its iCON Infrastructure Partners V (iCON V) fund, forging a partnership with majority shareholder Pittsburgh-based Railroad Development Corp. (RDC).
IAIS is a regional freight railroad operating in the agro-industrial heartland of the United States. Its main line runs between Chicago and Omaha, Neb., with a branch line to Peoria, Ill., connecting with each of North America’s seven Class I railroads, a number of short-line railroads, and the Mississippi and Illinois river systems.
RDC acquired a minority interest in the company in 1991 and bought 100 percent of the company’s shares in 2004.
IAIS’s customer base is diversified among agriculture, construction and consumer products. Some of the products handled by IAIS include corn, soybeans, agricultural products such as ethanol and animal feed, construction stone, steel, sand, and intermodal containers.
