By Abhijith Ganapavaram
(Reuters) – Kansas City Southern on Wednesday pushed back a vote on its proposed $29 billion sale to Canadian National Railway as financial investors bet a decision by the U.S. regulator had derailed the deal.
The other suitor for the U.S. railroad, Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd, said it would not be as willing to stick to its own $300 per share offer, worth $27 billion, after a Sept. 12 deadline.
Giving no timeline for a new shareholders’ vote, Kansas City said it would evaluate the smaller offer again, while saying it was looking at other options to complete the deal with Canadian National.
Shares in both the Canadian companies rose around 5% on bets that Canadian National may not complete a costly merger, while others said Canadian Pacific (CP) could profit from stepping in to buy the U.S. railroad at a cheaper price.
“It’s probably going to be good news if they (CP) can win this deal,” said Gregory Taylor, a portfolio manager at Purpose Investments.
Canadian National and its smaller rival have been vying to buy Kansas City for months, seeking to create the first direct railway linking Canada, the United States and Mexico.
The U.S. Surface Transportation Board on Tuesday rejected a voting trust structure that would have allowed Canadian National’s deal to proceed on antitrust concerns.
Chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio on Wednesday backed https://bit.ly/3jzypWD the regulator’s ruling.
The rail regulator has already cleared Canadian Pacific’s voting trust to buy Kansas City.
Meanwhile, Canadian National said it was also evaluating options. The company and Kansas City can seek a full approval, but regulatory experts said the process would be uncertain and could last more than a year.
Kansas City’s shares were up 3.6%. They fell 4.4% on Tuesday after the regulator’s ruling.
(Reporting by Abhijith Ganapavaram in Bengaluru, additional reporting by Amal S; Editing by Ramakrishnan M., Shailesh Kuber and Arun Koyyur)
