(Source: Canadian National/Kansas City Southern press release, June 17, 2021)
MONTREAL — CN and Kansas City Southern (“KCS”) today announced that support for their pro-competitive proposed combination continues to grow.
One hundred additional letters have been sent to CN and KCS and filed with the Surface Transportation Board (“STB”) in favor of a combination between the two companies, bringing the total number of support letters CN and KCS have received to greater than 1,500. Importantly, 90 of the letters being filed today support CN’s and KCS’s request that the Board approve their proposed voting trust agreement.
The plain vanilla voting trust, which is identical to the CP trust approved for use by the STB, is an integral component of the CN-KCS combination. It prevents premature control of KCS, allows KCS to maintain independence and protects KCS’ financial health during the STB’s review of the ultimate combination of CN and KCS. It also enables KCS shareholders to realize the full value of their shares without the delay related to this review. Additionally, CN has committed to divesting the sole area of overlap between the CN and KCS networks – KCS’ 70-mile line between New Orleans and Baton Rouge – thereby making the combination a true end-to-end transaction, and has agreed to preserve existing route options by keeping gateways open on commercially reasonable terms. The proposed CN-KCS combination represents a pro-competitive solution that offers unparalleled opportunities for customers, employees, shareholders, the environment and the North American economy.
Stakeholders from both CN and KCS’ networks, including U.S. Representative Jerry Carl (AL-01), the Jerseyville Economic Development Council and the Port of Gulfport, MS, continue to express overwhelming support for the combination, underscoring the significant benefits available through a CN-KCS combination.
CN and KCS look forward to further comment and engagement from their stakeholders during the STB’s official public comment period, which will be open until June 28, 2021, as they work towards gaining approval of their voting trust and completing their combination.
A full copy of CN’s letter filed with the STB appears at the link below.
Full story: www.cn.ca