American Track, a provider of railroad infrastructure services and a portfolio company of Hilltop Private Capital, has been acquired by DFW Capital Partners.
American Track is a provider of inspection, maintenance, repair and specialized construction services for railroad infrastructure operating in industrial, municipal, and logistics sites. Customers of American Track are active in the manufacturing, petrochemical, mining, agricultural products, food and beverage sectors as well as in the operation of ports and transload facilities across the United States.
American Track was formed in 2016 through a consolidation of two family businesses – Texas-based American Track Generations and Florida-based C.J. Bridges Railroad Contractor – in partnership with Hilltop Private Capital, Deerpath Capital and PNC Mezzanine.
In February 2021, American Track added on with the buy of Dirtworks Rail of the Carolinas, a North Carolina-based provider of rail construction and maintenance services to industrial and shortline railroads located in the southeastern United States. In April 2020, American Track acquired Savage Industrial Rail Services, a provider of track inspection, maintenance and repair services with locations in Denver and Salt Lake City.
“We are proud to have partnered with management and the company founders to create the American Track platform and to provide the resources to execute our growth strategy,” said Kate Lehman, a managing partner at Hilltop Private Capital. “We thank our partners PNC Mezzanine and Deerpath Capital for their support and wish the entire American Track team continued success as it moves forward.”
Today, American Track is led by CEO Thomas Lucario and operates from nine branch offices and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas.
“American Track represents a unique opportunity to back a very talented operating team and a market-leading operating business in what remains a highly fragmented, specialized industry,” said Keith Pennell, the managing partner of DFW. “We are excited to contribute some of our prior experiences in successfully scaling field service-oriented businesses to American Track, as well as supporting a more robust organic and add-on growth strategy.”
DFW invests in service companies, with an emphasis on healthcare and outsourced business and industrial support services, which have revenues up to $150 million and EBITDA up to $15 million. DFW is headquartered in Teaneck, New Jersey, and has an additional office in Chevy Chase, Maryland. In March 2019, DFW held an oversubscribed first and final closing of its sixth fund, DFW Capital Partners VI LP, at the fund’s hard cap of $500 million.
Hilltop makes control-oriented and significant minority investments from $10 million to $30 million in business and industrial products and services companies, based in the US, which have from $10 million to $150 million and from $3 million to $20 million in EBITDA. Hilltop, with offices in New York City and Los Angeles, was formed in 2016.
© 2021 Private Equity Professional | December 7, 2021
