Shareholders Overwhelmingly Approve CP-KCS Merger

Shareholders for both Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern have given near-unanimous approval to the $31 billion merger of the two railroads. KCS shareholders voted 99.6 percent in favor Friday morning to accept the terms of the deal that will see the railroad’s acquisition by Canadian Pacific. The vote came two days after CP shareholders voted by a similar margin to move forward with issuing their stock in exchange for KCS shares, as well as adopting “Canadian Pacific Kansas City” for the combined railroad’s name. Kansas City Southern shares will go into a voting trust while the Surface Transportation Board conducts its formal review of the proposed merger. The review is expected to take a year. If approved, the combined railroad will become the first to operate under a single name in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, despite remaining North America’s smallest Class One railroad.