First State Investments (FSI) announced that it has completed its acquisition of 100% of the equity of Patriot Rail and Ports from SteelRiver Infrastructure Partners, an independent investment manager.

Patriot, based in Jacksonville, Fla., operates a portfolio of 12 short line freight railroads with more than 585 track miles across 14 states and a port's business in the Southeastern United States.

The Patriot acquisition represents the initial unlisted infrastructure investment in the U.S. by First State Investments, which manages more than US$ 8 billion of unlisted infrastructure investments across the United Kingdom, continental Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and North America, with a focus on mid-market companies in the transportation and utility sectors worldwide. FSI manages more than US$ 156 billion worldwide on behalf of institutional and retail investors.

Patriot's operations include line haul and local rail service in addition to rail-related services such as railcar storage, trans-loading, railcar cleaning, scrapping, repair and maintenance, and contract switching. The Patriot ports business provides terminal stevedoring, logistics, and warehousing services across nine terminals and two cold storage facilities in the Southeastern United States.

The transaction was financed with a term loan fully underwritten by RBC Capital Markets and Barclays and successfully syndicated before close. First State was advised by RBC Capital Markets and the law firm of Mayer Brown. SteelRiver was advised by Barclays and the law firm of Winston & Strawn.