By Justin Franz 

CALGARY — Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern shareholders will have their say next month on whether or not the two Class I railroads should merge. On Wednesday, both railroads announced that they would hold separate shareholder meetings in December to consider the matter. 

On December 8, CP shareholders will get to vote on the issuance of CP common shares to KCS stockholders. As part of the proposed deal announced earlier this fall, CP has agreed to acquire KCS in a stock and cash transaction representing an enterprise value of approximately $31 billion. At the closing, KCS shareholders will receive 2.884 CP shares and $90 in cash for each KCS common share held, and KCS’s voting shares will be placed into a blind trust. The companies expect the transaction to close by Q1 2022.

The board is urging shareholders to approve the transaction. If it does, KCS shareholders will vote on December 10 on whether or not to accept the deal. 

“We are pleased to ask our shareholders to support this unique, once-in-a-lifetime partnership to create the first U.S.-Mexico-Canada rail network,” said Keith Creel, CP President and CEO. “This end-to-end combination is an extraordinary opportunity to inject new competition and capacity into the U.S. rail network and unlock new environmentally-friendly transportation options that will grow the USMCA economy.”