Grupo Mexico (www.gmexico.com) has announced that its GMexico Transportes division has reached an agreement to acquire Florida East Coast Railway Holdings Corp from Fortress Investment Group.

The Mexican company said that adding the US group to its existing operations in Texas will “immediately establish us as an important railroad owner in the USA”.

Completion of the all-cash transaction is subject to meeting the closing conditions, including government approvals.

Grupo Mexico has a network of more than 10,000km of track in Mexico, serving major industrial and commercial zones, as well as eight sea-ports and six border crossings. It handles around 1.4 million wagon-loads per year.

Florida East Coast Railway Holdings Corp has a 560km network and handles 550,000 wagon-loads per year — a diverse mix of inter-modal, aggregate, automotive, chemicals, metals and lumber.

Florida East Coast CEO Jim Hertwig said his team looks forward to working with Grupo Mexico “to grow our business, execute our key strategic initiatives and take advantage of new opportunities.”