CP

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.

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.

Commentary

Dancing With the Flames of Success and Failure

For investors, industry watchers and rail consumers, August has been either the most interesting or frustrating month to date in the reality dating show, “I Want to Buy a Class I Railroad.”

CN, CP Deliver Grain Haul Records in 2020-21 Crop Year

Canada’s two Class I railroads continue to set records for grain moves. For the 2020-21 crop year, CN and Canadian Pacific (CP) each reported about 31 million metric tons (MMT) shipped, despite weather and other challenges.

STB Issues Decision on CP’s Declaratory Order Petition

The Surface Transportation Board (STB) has granted in part Canadian Pacific’s (CP) petition for declaratory relief: It confirmed that CP may use “discovery” under STB regulations to seek relevant material from Kansas City Southern (KCS) to prepare its control application.

KCS Speaks Out on CP’s Preliminary Proxy Statement

Canadian Pacific’s SEC filing asking Kansas City Southern shareholders to vote against the proposed CN-KCS combination is “part of an effort to defeat a transaction that offers KCS shareholders $50 per share more than CP was willing to offer,” KCS said in an Aug. 2 statement.

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