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KCS Shareholders to Vote on CN Merger on August 19

The Kansas City Southern board of directors is urging shareholders to vote in favor of the merger. Photo by Steve Barry.

KCS Shareholders to Vote on CN Merger on August 19

By Justin Franz

KANSAS CITY — Kansas City Southern shareholders will vote on Aug. 19, whether or not to accept Canadian National’s offer to buy the Class I railroad for $30 billion. The KCS board of directors, which accepted the offer earlier this year, is urging all shareholders to vote in favor of the deal. 

The vote comes as KCS and CN prepare for what will likely be a lengthy review of the proposed merger and it’s still unclear if the U.S. Surface Transportation Board will let CN put the smaller railroad into a separate voting trust pending reviews. Putting KCS into a separate trust would enable shareholders to be paid — $200 in cash plus 1.129 shares of CN for each common KCS share — while the STB looks at the deal. If the STB does not allow CN to put KCS into trust, which could be known in the coming weeks, it could derail the deal. 

“We are thrilled to be taking this important next step and giving KCS stockholders the opportunity to vote on the creation of the premier railway for the 21st century,” said CN President and CEO JJ Ruest. “Numerous stakeholders of both companies have voiced overwhelming support for this compelling combination, and we look forward to delivering the many benefits of this pro-competitive transaction to them. This combination delivers significant value to KCS stockholders along with the opportunity to participate in the significant upside of the combined company.”

If everything goes according to plan — and as of this writing that is still very much up in the air — CN would close the deal during the second half of 2021 and officially takeover KCS in late 2022.

The proxy materials are being mailed to all stockholders eligible to vote at the Special Meeting, which can be accessed online at meetings.computershare.com/MUKQC2H. Anyone who owned KCS stock on July 1, 2021, will be able to vote. 

This article was posted on: July 8, 2021