(Source: Canadian National press release, June 1, 2021)
MONTREAL — CN and Kansas City Southern (“KCS”) today announced that the overwhelming stakeholder support for their proposed pro-competitive combination continues to grow with more than 400 additional letters of support filed with the Surface Transportation Board (“STB”) since the two companies agreed to combine, taking the total to over 1,400, including a letter of support from Governor John Bel Edwards of Louisiana.
The proposed combination between CN and KCS will create a transportation network across North America, enhancing competition, spurring economic growth and delivering benefits to the local communities in which both railroads operate. The combination, with the recent commitment to divesting the sole area of overlap and keeping gateways open for customers, creates a fully end-to-end merger and delivers significant public interest benefits for customers, ports, employees, communities and the environment. No customer will see any reduction in their existing routes. In fact, customers will now be able to access new markets that were not previously available to them via efficient single-line service. The transaction will also provide an enhanced platform for growth, capital investment, and job creation. Together, CN and KCS will be well positioned to deliver on the transaction’s many compelling benefits.
The benefits of the transaction are underscored by the more than 400 additional letters that have been filed with the STB since the two companies agreed to combine on May 21. The letters express support for a proposed CN-KCS combination, the use of a voting trust to complete the combination, or both. This brings the total number of support letters for a CN-KCS combination to well over 1,400. CN and KCS will continue to communicate and engage with their customers and other key stakeholders as they work towards gaining approval of their voting trust and completing their combination.
Last week’s letter was filed with the STB on May 24. A full copy of the most recent letter filed with the STB appears at the link above.