An affiliate of investment firm Fortress Investment Group LLC is believed to have made a play to acquire the Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway Ltd., which was involved in a deadly crash this past summer, out of bankruptcy protection, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday. Bankruptcy trustee Robert J. Keach, who is overseeing the railway company's chapter 11 case, said on Friday that it is his "understanding" that proposed buyer Railroad Acquisition Holdings LLC is affiliated with Fortress, the publicly traded investment firm that has about $58 billion in assets under management. Railroad Acquisition Holdings has offered $14.25 million for Montreal, Maine & Atlantic, which owns the train that derailed in July, killing 47 people. The train, which included five locomotives and was carrying 72 carloads of crude oil, set off explosions that destroyed part of the small Quebec town Lac-Mégantic. The railway sought the protection of U.S. and Canadian courts after the accident in order to secure funds to pay the victims, who have brought litigation against the company. Since his appointment in August as the bankruptcy trustee, Keach has been working to centralize a number of derailment lawsuits in one U.S. court and to find a buyer. He has also obtained $3 million in bankruptcy financing for the railway and extended its Canadian operating license.
