What do you think is going on with this?
Sounds to me as if somebody smells money to be made. I hope he’s right. High speed DMU makes more sense than stringing catenary over miles of presently un-electrified track.
Chuck
Carl Icahn does not have a reputation or history of being a long-term investor; i.e. he’s not Warren Buffett. He’ll probably buy heavily into the firm to get it started and sell it off as soon as a favorable opportunity presents itself.
Greyhound, I am going to disagree with you somewhat regarding Carl Icahn.
No one has the reputation of being a hands off as Buffett, but Icahn has history of very long term investing. His ownership of ACF Industries (article says 54%) has been for years, and he has left it alone. He does stir up trouble from time to time, primarily by lighting a fire under companies which are under performing. He serves a valuable purpose in that regard.
TWA? - Sure, but what exactly did TWA serve that had long term value? The entire airline industry has never made a profit over their history.
No doubt he is looking at the capacity he has in railcar building infrastructure and jumping into the game. Good for him.
Ed
Will Ichan be able to succeed where Rader didn’t? Did the game change since Rader quit the business? Is the horse already out of the barn for anyone trying to make a buck in the stock market on HSR equipment providers? For example BOMBARDIER INC B is up from 2 bucks to 5 bucks a share since this time last year.
This joint venture may be a good ‘dove-tail’ of Ohio’s US RailCar’s = Rader’s technical designs and marketing efforts, with American Railcar’s = Icahn’s actual ‘bricks-and-mortar’ production faciltiies and railroad fabrication know-how, without duplicating or overlapping those efforts within either company.
That would reduce the capital requirements for US Railcar - and American Railcar and Ichan have ‘deeper pockets’ than Rader ever did, if needed and justified/ prudent. Also, that already gives this joint venture legitimate US-located manufacturing facilities to satisfy the inevitable ‘domestic content’/ ‘‘Made in USA’’ requirements, without having to buy or build new as most others would have to do.
Since Rader quit, of course the big game change is the recent federal push for HSR and expanded Amtrak service, and a few - but only a few - billion dollars to support it.
Bombardier’s share price increase may reflect some HSR speculation or ‘cherry-picking’ - but the share prices of many companies are up from the same time last year by similar proportions, so I don’t see that as being too determinative.
- Paul North.