CP shareholders back $31B purchase of Kansas City Southern

Canadian Pacific’s $31 billion plan to acquire Kansas City Southern cleared one of its final hurdles Wednesday when CP shareholders overwhelmingly approved the deal that would create the first railroad connecting the United States, Canada and Mexico

Canadian Pacific's $31 billion plan to acquire Kansas City Southern cleared one of its final hurdles Wednesday when CP shareholders overwhelmingly approved the deal that would create the first railroad connecting the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Ownership of the railroad, based in Missouri, is expected to change next Tuesday as long as Kansas City Southern shareholders endorse the deal later this week. Kansas City Southern won't see any major changes immediately because it will be held by a voting trust for the next year while the U.S. Surface Transportation Board scrutinizes the deal.

“The overwhelming support our shareholders have given today to the transaction is critical to making this combination a reality,” Canadian Pacific CEO Keith Creel said.

A review of the deal by U.S. regulators is expected to wrap up sometime in the fourth quarter of next year. The STB hasn't approved any major railroad mergers since the 1990s, but executives at the two railroads have said they don't expect any problems getting the merger approved. Mexican regulators signed off on the deal last month.