One month after Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern announced their intent to merge into CPKC (Canadian Pacific Kansas City), CN made a counter-offer it said is a “superior proposal” that “will
Yet another letter. Be warned: This one, nearly 3,000 words, is from Canadian Pacific’s attorney to the Surface Transportation Board. It essentially says CN has it totally wrong by asking the STB to approve a voting trust for its proposed acquisition of Kansas City Southern under the same conditions as a CP-KCS combination.
The letters keep coming: Railway Age has obtained a letter Canadian Pacific President and CEO Keith Creel sent to his counterpart at Kansas City Southern, Pat Ottensmeyer, pointing out in detail “the dimensions of competition between KCS and CN.”
The merger dance that has been conducted since March 21 has morphed from the Waltz to the Mambo in “The Dance at the Gym” scene in “West Side Story” to the Twist.
The Surface Transportation Board (STB) has confirmed that it will review the proposed merger of Canadian Pacific (CP) and Kansas City Southern (KCS) under the waiver provision it granted KCS in 2001; Robert Primus, one of the five Board members, dissented.
A Cowen and Company “snap” railroad shipper survey conducted over a one-day period indicates that CN “is likely to have a more difficult time with shippers supporting its proposed acquisition of Kansas City Southern. This compares to a more favorable view by shippers of Canadian Pacific acquiring KCS in our most recent survey.”
A bidding war has broken out for the Kansas City Southern, but it’s actually more like a chess game. Here are some observations about what it all could mean, especially in terms of railroad “real estate,” from my economist observation post.
Just when we thought Railway Age would get a brief break from publishing letters about mergers, here’s another one, from the North Dakota Grain Dealers Association (NDGDA) to the Surface Transportation Board re-iterating its support of the Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern combination.
The move to zero-emission locomotives is picking up electrons—not steam—with Metra’s announcement that it will issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) challenging manufacturers to convert three of its older F40PH-3 diesels to battery power.
Letters, Kansas City Southern gets letters. CN President and CEO JJ Ruest has responded to Canadian Pacific President and CEO Keith Creel’s April 21 letter to KCS President and CEO Pat Ottensmeyer