CP Rail attacks CN’s big rival offer

Letter to regulator claims larger bid for Kansas City will hurt competition

OMAHA, NEB. — Canadian Pacific railroad continued its assault on rival Canadian National’s competing $33.7 billion (U.S.) bid to buy Kansas City Southern railroad Wednesday in a formal letter to regulators.

Canadian Pacific urged the Surface Transportation Board to closely examine Canadian National’s offer to buy Kansas City Southern. It says the deal would hurt rail competition throughout the central United States and could destabilize the balance between the industry’s six largest players.

Canadian National, meanwhile, maintains that the bid it announced Tuesday is superior to the $25 billion cash and stock deal that Canadian Pacific announced last month.

Canadian Pacific said competition would be hurt by the rival deal because Canadian National and Kansas City Southern both have rail lines that connect the Midwest with the Gulf Coast, so combining those two railroads would eliminate a competitor. Canadian Pacific’s network connects to Kansas City Southern in Kansas City, Mo., but those two railroads don’t overlap elsewhere.

“Canadian Pacific respectfully suggests that the Board should see things the same way: the only combination involving KCS that is in the public interest is the one that Canadian Pacific has proposed, and which has already garnered support from over 400 shippers and other stakeholders,” Canadian Pacific’s attorney David Meyer wrote.

Canadian National has said its bid is better because it offers a stronger network to combine with Kansas City Southern and more cash for shareholders. CN said its offer is worth $325 per Kansas City Southern share. Kansas City Southern shareholders would receive $200 in cash and 1.059 shares of CN common stock for each share. In contrast, Canadian Pacific’s current offer values Kansas City Southern at $275 per share, which includes $90 cash and 0.489 shares of CP stock.

“Together, CN and KCS would offer multiple interchanges and create greater choice and service options for customers of both companies. Customers will benefit from a faster, more direct and more efficient network of end-to-end single-line services from Mexico to the United States to Canada,” CN said Wednesday.

Canadian National launched a website touting the benefits of its offer. Canadian Pacific created a similar site last month.

Edward Jones analyst Jeff Windau said Canadian Pacific’s sharp criticism of Canadian National’s offer hints at how much that railroad wants the growth opportunities that would come with buying Kansas City Southern.

“I think CP’s quick and pointed response helps to show how important the merger is to them,” Windau said.

Kansas City Southern has said its board will review both proposals and respond later. Previously, the board unanimously endorsed CP’s bid.

The Surface Transportation Board hasn’t approved any major railroad mergers since the 1990s.