NS to be Taken Over by CP?

[CSX_CO]

NS reported earnings. They aren't pretty. I bet there are going to be a lot of investors wondering why they weren't given an option to vote on CP's offer when the current management is turning in the results they are...

[hoborich]

Well, it's kinda hard to replace all that coal traffic. Just sayin............

[CSX_CO]

Well, it's kinda hard to replace all that coal traffic. Just sayin............

Yeah, but the other railroads aren't feeling the crunch as bad as NS. Just saying....

[~Z~]

As CSX_CO said, they posted their 4th quarter earnings.... NS cutting 2000 jobs soon...
http://wsls.com/2016/01/27/norfolk-sout ... to-be-cut/

[hoborich]

NS used to be a $130 stock a couple years ago. I got out around $110.
I still don't see anything that's going to replace the coal revenue. And the economy is slowing down, despite all the media happy talk.
And CP is going to be hurt by the reduction in crude oil shipments, as the no longer profitable shale oil operations are shut down.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/ ... rice-fight

[Saturnalia]

Interesting video I saw yesterday:

http://finance.yahoo.com/video/h-shares ... 00306.html

[OSRR]

As CSX_CO said, they posted their 4th quarter earnings.... NS cutting 2000 jobs soon...
http://wsls.com/2016/01/27/norfolk-sout ... to-be-cut/

Watch it be all transportation and M/W. They're already workin on it.

[NSSD70ACe]

BLOOMBERG NEWS: CP TO BACK AWAY FROM PROXY FIGHT


Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. is moving away from a proxy fight for Norfolk Southern Corp. but still plans to pursue a takeover of the U.S. carrier, a person familiar with the plan said.
Canada’s second-largest railroad likely won’t present an alternative slate of directors at Norfolk Southern’s annual meeting, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the deliberations haven’t been made public. Instead, Canadian Pacific will probably request a nonbinding resolution on the ballot which would ask the Norfolk Southern board to start talks, the person said Tuesday.
Canadian Pacific Chief Executive Officer Hunter Harrison is due to speak at an investor conference in Coral Gables, Florida, on Wednesday afternoon, and may make an announcement regarding Norfolk Southern then, the person said. Representatives for Norfolk Southern and Canadian Pacific declined to comment on the plans, which were reported earlier by Dow Jones.

Acquiring Norfolk Southern would allow Harrison to create a coast-to-coast railroad that eliminates rail-car exchanges between the carriers and would enable him to apply his efficiency expertise to Norfolk Southern, which lags behind other large carriers in key service measures. Norfolk Southern’s board has rejected proposals from Canadian Pacific -- including one in mid-December that was valued at about $27 billion.
Norfolk Southern fell less than 1 percent to $70.10 at 1:03 p.m. in New York, while Canadian Pacific was little changed at C$169.19 in Toronto.
Polling Shareholders
Activist investor Bill Ackman, whose Pershing Square Capital Management is Canadian Pacific’s second-largest shareholder, said on a conference call on Dec. 16 that the easiest way forward would be to submit a shareholder resolution urging Norfolk Southern’s board to sit down with Canadian Pacific management to discuss a possible merger.
“I think shareholders would overwhelmingly approve that resolution,” Ackman said at the time. The investor and Canadian Pacific hadn’t ruled out a proxy fight at that point. Such a move, including nominating a slate of directors, was the “more aggressive way,” Ackman said.

The deadline to submit proxy materials or shareholder proposals for Norfolk’s annual general meeting is Feb. 14, according to its website.
The U.S. Surface Transportation Board has received dozens of comments on the potential deal from various stakeholders, including shipping customers, other railroads and lawmakers. Some shippers have expressed support for a merger, while a majority of the submissions have said further rail consolidation would hurt competition.
(An earlier version of this story was corrected to say Pershing Square is Canadian Pacific’s second-biggest shareholder.)
Before it's here, it's on the Bloomberg Terminal.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/ ... roxy-fight

[hoborich]

Norfolk Southern fell less than 1 percent to $70.10 at 1:03 p.m. in New York

Norfolk Southern [NSC] closed up .93 at $71.42 at 4:00.

[TrainWatcher]

CP Take-Over, Round 4... NS 4, CP 0.

http://www.nscorp.com/content/nscorp/en ... lderp.html

[CSX_CO]

CP Take-Over, Round 4... NS 4, CP 0.

http://www.nscorp.com/content/nscorp/en ... lderp.html

More like 0 to 1 CP, and shareholders are in the negative. CP/Ackman is getting what it wants, a shareholder vote. That's something NS refused to agree to. So if anything, CP wins this round. Given the NS stock slide since the initial offer, NS's poor results, and EHH's fast talking, it could be a bad outcome for the current NS regime.

[bdconrail29]

I found this interesting:

http://www.businessinsider.com/ackman-b ... ule-2016-2

http://www.businessinsider.com/pershing ... ent-2016-1

Just interesting reading.

[NSSD70ACe]

CP reportedly went after CSX again while holding firm on taking over NS. It was covered in the Wall Street Journal but I can't get the full article. I'll see if I can find it somewhere.


Found it:

http://www.thestate.com/news/business/n ... 69502.html

[hoborich]

I'm thinking the CP/NS takeover is dead. Tonight on the Nightly Business Report, they said the Pentagon opposed the plan, saying it would hurt our defense. They didn't go into details. Just said the Pentagon opposed the takeover, for security reasons.
OK, I just went and replayed the show on the net, and the Pentagon doesn't like the idea of CP running the operation, claiming it could undermine our defense.

[CSX_CO]

I'm thinking the CP/NS takeover is dead. Tonight on the Nightly Business Report, they said the Pentagon opposed the plan, saying it would hurt our defense. They didn't go into details. Just said the Pentagon opposed the takeover, for security reasons.
OK, I just went and replayed the show on the net, and the Pentagon doesn't like the idea of CP running the operation, claiming it could undermine our defense.

Yeah, ok. If that's the case, then everything the US army uses better be "made in the USA." If not, having outside contractors might "undermine security."

Unless they see Canada as a threat, it is a weak argument. The last time we fought with Canada was the War of 1812? Anyone see "Canadian Bacon"?

[hoborich]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/cp-norf ... -1.3527104

http://www.reuters.com/article/cp-norfo ... ompanyNews

[NSSD70ACe]

BREAKING:

The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen is reporting that CP has officially broken off merger efforts with NS.

I'll be back with a link soon!



http://www.financialpost.com/m/wp/blog. ... thern-corp

[bdconrail29]

Well what do you know! I guess those of us that predicted from the beginning that it would never happen weren't wrong after all.

[lakeshoredave]

http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/r ... ?2,4006211

[Doktor No]

And CP shares rise almost $10 a share the last two days...NS gets bupkus and the share price falls.
Just like the line in In The Heat Of The Night when the wife of the murder victim building the new factory in Sparta said, and I paraphrase..."I'll take my factory and my money and leave you all to yourselves."
I think NS tossed themselves under the bus but then again the nice steam engine and the pretty paint on the locomotives seems big for some...so it goes.
The CP shareholders seem happy enough though...