Author: William C. Vantuono

With Railway Age since 1992, William C. Vantuono has broadened and deepened the magazine's coverage of the technological revolution that is so swiftly changing the industry. He has also strengthened Railway Age’s leadership position in industry affairs with the conferences he conducts, among them Next-Generation Train Control, Light Rail, and Rail Insights. He is the author or co-author or editor of several books, among them All About Railroading; John Armstrong’s The Railroad: What It Is, What It Does; Railway Age’s Comprehensive Railroad Dictionary; and Planning, Engineering, and Operating Light Rail, With Applications in New Jersey.
Commentary

Back to Their Future: CP and KCS

Get used to the acronym “CPKC,” which stands for Canadian Pacific Kansas City, the name of the Class I railroad that will begin operations sometime within the next 18 to 24 months, provided the Surface Transportation Board approves—as many industry observers and analysts believe it will—the merger of the Canadian Pacific and the Kansas City Southern. The two railroads have circled back to pretty much the original merger agreement they announced on March 21, 2021, one month before CN began its attempt to wrest the deal away from CP with a higher bid.

‘Every Region is Exciting’

RAILWAY AGE, SEPTEMBER 2021 ISSUE: We talk with Alstom Americas Region President Michael Keroullé on the Bombardier Transportation integration and the Western Hemisphere railway market.

CP, KCS Rekindle Relationship (UPDATED)

Surprise, surprise: On Sept. 4, 2021, four days after the Surface Transportation Board slammed the door shut on the CN-Kansas City Southern voting trust, effectively killing the proposed merger of the two Class I’s, the KCS Board of Directors has unanimously determined, after consultation with outside legal and financial advisors, that the “unsolicited proposal” received from Canadian Pacific on Aug. 31, 2021 to acquire KCS in a cash and stock transaction valued by CP at $300 per KCS share “could reasonably be expected to lead to a ‘Company Superior Proposal’ as defined in KCS’s merger agreement with CN.”

Commentary

TCI, Newly Empowered, Steamrolls CN (UPDATED)

There’s an 800-pound British gorilla pounding on the door of CN’s boardroom. He’s pissed, beating his chest, and licking his chops. He’s not going away until he cleans house. He’s Sir Chris Hohn, and the activist hedge fund he leads, TCI Fund Management Ltd., on Aug. 30 became a “beneficial owner” of CN, grabbing 5.2% of the railroad’s shares, putting Hohn and his business partner, Ben Walker, in a position to make CN an offer it probably can’t refuse.

STB UNANIMOUSLY REJECTS CN-KCS VOTING TRUST. CPKC BACK IN PLAY (Updated Sept. 3)

UPDATED SEPT. 3, 2021: The United States Surface Transportation Board—as expected by many industry observers and financial analysts—on Aug. 31, 2021, by unanimous vote, rejected the CN-Kansas City Southern voting trust, effectively killing the merger, and opening the door for Canadian Pacific to re-engage with KCS on the CPKC (“Canadian Pacific Kansas City”) deal it struck with KCS on March 21, albeit with a sweetened offer. KCS postponed its Sept. 3 shareholder meeting to vote on the CN offer until 9 a.m. (CT) on Sept. 24. It is now “evaluating its options,” which includes considering CP’s offer.

TCI Ups Its Stake in CN; STB Rejects Voting Trust. What Next? (UPDATED)

On Aug. 30, 2021—the day before the Surface Transportation Board rejected the voting trust for the proposed CN/Kansas City Southern merger—TCI Fund Management Ltd. filed a Schedule 13D form with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to report that it had increased its stake in CN to 5.2%. TCI already is CN merger rival Canadian Pacific’s second-largest shareholder. Some industry observers found TCI’s move “interesting” and “critical” as the activist hedge fund has strongly objected to CN’s merger attempt with KCS.

CSX/Pan Am Merger: Pros and Cons

As a series of Surface Transportation Board comment periods continues for the CSX’s proposed acquisition of Pan Am Railways, letters both for and against the combination have been filed with the STB.