(RTTNews) -  Friday, Nicor Inc. (GAS: News ) said its subsidiary, Birdsall, Inc., has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Deluxe Freight, Inc. The terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Birdsall is the parent company of Tropical Shipping with involvement in containerized freight in the Bahamas and Caribbean.

Miami-based Deluxe Freight is a non-vessel operating common carrier into the Cayman Islands, its primary market since 1996. It has a strong and loyal customer base in the less-than-container load or LCL and full-container load consolidation segment of the market.

Deluxe Freight will remain headquartered in Miami and will operate as a separate brand.

Rick Murrell, Tropical Shipping's chairman and presiden said, "Cayman is a key market for Tropical and our most significant in terms of LCL revenue. While the acquisition is small in relation to our total volumes, the Deluxe brand addition expands our service offerings in a market that is important to our long-term success."

Willie Munoz, president of Deluxe Freight, will remain in his current position. Michael Pellicci, chief financial officer of Tropical Shipping, who will manage the separate brands, said, "After acquiring Caribtrans last year, we believe Deluxe represents a great fit in continuing Tropical's strategic expansion of our logistic services to benefit our Caribbean customers."
Naperville, Illinois-based Nicor reported a significant increase in profit for the third quarter as a result of improved operating income in its gas distribution and other energy-related businesses, as well as higher corporate operating results. Nicor's net income increased to $13.6 million or $0.30 per share from $1.3 million or $0.03 per share in the year-ago quarter.

Nicor's primary business is natural gas distribution in the United States. Besides distributing natural gas to approximately 2.2 million residential, commercial, and industrial customers in northern Illinois, the company operates approximately 34,000 miles of mains and 8 underground storage fields.

The company also provides shipping services, including the transportation of containerized freight between Florida, the eastern coast of Canada, the Bahamas, and the Caribbean region.

GAS closed Friday's last trade on the New York Stock Exchange at $38.34, down $0.11 or 0.29%.

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by RTT Staff Writer

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