(KCS issued the following news release on October 22.)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Southern (KCS) announced this afternoon that Chancellor William B. Chandler III of the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware has, in a ruling from the bench, stated his intention to grant KCS’ motion seeking a preliminary injunction to preserve the status quo pending resolution of KCS’ dispute with Grupo TMM, S.A. (“TMM”), and its subsidiaries TMM Holdings, S.A. de C.V. (“Holdings”) and TMM Multimodal, S.A. de C.V. (“Multimodal”).
In his ruling, Chancellor Chandler stated that he would issue a written order enjoining TMM, Holdings and Multimodal from taking any action in violation of the terms of the April 20, 2003, Acquisition Agreement pending resolution of the dispute between KCS, TMM, Holdings and Multimodal in accordance with the terms of the dispute resolution procedures set forth in the Acquisition Agreement. KCS expects the written ruling to be issued by the Court within the next few days. In accordance with the terms of the Acquisition Agreement, KCS will initiate arbitration to resolve the dispute as soon as possible following the expiration of the 60-day informal negotiation period called for under the Acquisition Agreement. That period commenced on August 29, 2003, with KCS’ delivery of its notice of dispute to TMM, Holdings and Multimodal. The arbitration will be held in New York, New York, and will be governed by Delaware law and the rules of the American Arbitration Association.
KCS is a transportation holding company that has railroad investments in the United States, Mexico and Panama. Its primary holding is The Kansas City Southern Railway Company (KCSR). Headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, KCSR serves customers in the central and south central regions of the U.S. KCS’ rail holdings and investments are primary components of a NAFTA Railway system that links the commercial and industrial centers of the United States, Canada and Mexico.