CN and Kansas City Southern announced that they have taken the next step on their path to combine to create the premier railway for the 21st century.
CN and KCS jointly filed with the Surface Transportation Board a renewed motion for approval of its voting trust that outlines the case for approval of the voting trust to advance the CN-KCS merger that will enhance competition, spur economic growth and realize the benefits of a fully end-to-end transportation network across the continent. The filing highlights that the voting trust protects against premature control of KCS and protects KCS’ financial health, that CN remains financially sound, the substantial benefits to be gained from the transaction by customers and the nearly 1,100 stakeholders who have already supported the transaction.
As part of the application, CN is committing to divesting KCS’ 70-mile line between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, which is less than 0.7 percent of the approximately 27,000 route-miles the two companies operate. This commitment eliminates the sole area of overlap between the CN and KCS networks, thereby making the combination an end-to-end transaction. This commitment, plus CN’s multiple other pro-competitive commitments, including keeping existing gateways open on commercially reasonable terms, addresses any competitive concerns.
—via Press Release