Canadian National makes final pitch for $33.6B railroad deal

Canadian National has made its final pitch to regulators for preliminary approval of its $33.6 billion acquisition of Kansas City Southern railroad

OMAHA, Neb. -- Canadian National has made its final pitch to regulators for preliminary approval of its $33.6 billion acquisition of Kansas City Southern railroad. The Canadian railroad reiterated its main arguments for the deal in a detailed filing with the Surface Transportation Board on Tuesday. Earlier this spring, regulators indicated they would take a cautious approach to approving Canadian National's plan to set up a voting trust that would acquire Kansas City Southern and hold the railroad during the STB's lengthy review of the overall deal. More than 2,000 letters were filed with regulators with most of them supporting the deal, but it also attracted strong opposition from rival Canadian Pacific railroad and several hundred commenters who raised concerns about the merger hurting competition. Canadian Pacific lost out on the chance to acquire Kansas City Southern when it refused to increase its original $25 billion bid for the smaller U.S. railroad, but CP has continued to seek STB approval for its combination with Kansas City Southern, so it will be prepared if the CN deal fails to get approval. “We are confident that our voting trust meets all the standards set forth by the STB and believe that, after a fair and thorough review by the STB, it should be approved,” Canadian National CEO JJ Ruest said.