Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC, OMERS Infrastructure and Wren House are buying a US chassis provider from funds managed by Apollo and EQT for an undisclosed amount.
GIC, OMERS Infrastructure and Wren House said they have agreed to buy Direct ChassisLink (DCLI) from the unnamed funds.
DCLI is one of the largest chassis lessors in the US with over 151,000 marine and 100,000 domestic chassis in its fleet. The company operates across port and rail terminals in the US.
Ang Eng Seng, GIC’s CIO of infrastructure, said as a global long-term investor, GIC seeks to invest in world-class companies.
“GIC is excited to partner with like-minded investors, OMERS Infrastructure and Wren House, to acquire DCLI, one of the largest chassis lessors in the US, providing infrastructure to facilitate trade.”
Boon Chin Hau, MD and head of infrastructure Americas at GIC, said, in the US, intermodal transportation is on the rise, as companies seek to drive down transport costs and reduce their carbon footprint.
“As a market-leading chassis lessor, we firmly believe DCLI is well-positioned to capitalise on this growing trend. We look forward to supporting DCLI’s management team as they continue their impressive growth.”
OMERS Infrastructure’s senior MD and head of Americas, Gisele Everett, said, following the close of the transaction, which is expected in the second half of the year, DCLI will become OMERS Infrastructure’s eighth global investment in transportation and mobility, adding to its portfolio including roads, bridges and ports around the world.
Philippe Busslinger, the CEO of London-based Wren House, said: “This second investment for us in North America supports Wren House’s long‐term goal to build a global quality infrastructure portfolio with outstanding management teams.”
Apollo acquired DCLI from EQT in 2019. As part of the deal, EQT retained a 20% minority stake in the chassis provider.
“We thank Apollo and EQT for investing in our success, and look forward to working with OMERS, Wren House and GIC to sustain those investments and do even more to serve our customers’ supply chain needs,” said DCLI’s CEO Bill Shea.
To read the latest edition of the latest IPE Real Assets magazine click here.
