CN Matches CP, Letter for Letter
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
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
Canadian Pacific President and CEO Keith Creel on April 21 issued a letter to his counterpart and intended merger partner, Kansas City Southern President and CEO Pat Ottensmeyer, stating that CP is
CN on April 21 submitted to the U.S. Surface Transportation Board a prefiling notification of its intent to file an application seeking authority to combine with Kansas City Southern “further to CN’s superior proposal for a cash-and-stock transaction valued at $33.7 billion, or $325 per share.”
Perhaps not so surprisingly, almost exactly one month to the day 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 result in a safer, faster, cleaner and stronger railway.” CN’s proposal of $325 per KCS share “represents a 21% premium over the implied value of the CP transaction and values KCS at an enterprise value of $33.7 billion.”
After a thorough review of my mergers and acquisitions career work, I have reached the conclusion that the Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern (“CPKC”) combination has several less-than-optimal locations where overall system performance affecting three nations—the U.S., Mexico and Canada—could be addressed and improved during Surface Transportation Board review.
Several shipper trade associations, a major agricultural shipper and four of the remaining five North American Class I railroads have asked the Surface Transportation Board to review Canadian Pacific’s proposed acquisition of Kansas City Southern under the more stringent 2001 merger rules. A few argue that the smallest Class I rail carrier, KCS, should not get a “gentle pass” STB review. As to the merger itself, most support it, with a few notable exceptions.
The recent merger agreement between Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) and Kansas City Southern (KCS) offers a unique opportunity to fuel economic growth across North America while reducing freight congestion, helping the environment, and strengthening competition in the freight transport marketplace.
Early on March 21, the big announcement came: Canadian Pacific Railway will acquire Kansas City Southern in a cash and stock transaction worth $29 billion in U.S. dollars. The combined Class I
Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. (CP) will acquire Kansas City Southern (KCS) in a cash and stock transaction worth US$29 billion, the two Class I railroads announced early March 21. The combined entity will be named Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC).