Proposed Norfolk Southern NS Canadian Pacific CP Acq/Merger

justalurker66 wrote:

Zeke wrote:EHH has reported they have polled major shippers and major shareholders and it appeared to him they like the merger idea.......

A biased opinion on his part. Those that seek support are more likely to see support ... even if that support does not exist.

Especially if, rather than hiring an outside company to do the survey, he had it done by company personnel who know what the boss wants to hear. (I often think that one of the most serious errors a CEO can make is to let his staff know what he wants to hear--as in, "OMG, we can't tell him that!)

I personally would take EHH at his word unless we have proof he is shading the results of said poll. EHH is a up from the ranks hard ass railroad man the like we have not seen since Perlman , Menk , Deramus , Gurley and Budd. I would find it hard to believe his minions would dare fudge an important poll report because I am sure EHH would find out and said fudger would go out the door in less than 2 seconds. Friend of mine is acquainted with EHH and he says the man is razor sharp and more and would love to get his hands on NS. Are we forgetting his extensive successful resume ? If he says he can triple NS's share price in two years take that to the bank and buy NS. The question remains will he get the chance ?

I am not EHH's biggest fan. I'll leave that role to others. I was not suggesting that "yes men" were telling EHH what he was wanting to hear ... I was suggesting that EHH himself was hearing what he wanted to hear - and projecting a positive outcome for his business venture. Focusing on the positive and ignoring the negative *is* his job.

He is doing all he can ... approaching with a negative outlook would not help so I do not fault him for being positive. But at some point facts must be faced and a positive outlook does not change the facts.

Your wording was "appeared to him". I will take you at your word and agree that it does "appear to him" that he has support. Whether he actually has it or not.

CP has abandoned the proxy fight for NS .

http://business.financialpost.com/news/ ... orp-report" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It appears the shotgun wedding is heating up again and found a few online gems.....CP will submit a non binding shareholder resolution asking the NS board to engage in good faith discussion regarding combining the two roads...... CP is saying some NS shareholders have been telling CP to nominate a new alternative board of directors and go for it...... EHH said, " We are simply asking to vote in favor of the NS board talking to us."....... CP white paper issued Tuesday stated, "A combined CP-NS would still be smaller then Union Pacific or BNSF and therefore create no pressure on those carriers to merge in order to be competitive.".....NS major strategy has been decree the 30 billion dollar CP offer is too low or STB will not approve or a voting trust is not possible ........ CP's retort," Since the 1980 Staggers act Voting trusts have been approved 144 times and none have been rejected or succumbed to legal reverse".....EHH is attending a conference in Florida today Wednesday Feb 10 and may expound on the current state of affairs. He did say he has been approached by many shippers and shareholders who support the merger FWIW......NS strategy of hiding under the desk placing their fingers in their ears and repeating the word no is not serving them well and it may provoke the fence sitters to align with CP....... EHH gave the odds of 7 to 5 he will prevail. Cant beat these RR soap operas to liven up things around here.

Zeke wrote:Cant beat these RR soap operas to liven up things around here.

I think that sums up a good deal of this thread, and definitely some of my personal interest in this. You don't usually see business clashes at this scale this often, and definitely not conflicts that are as vocal from as many different parties as this. 'Course, the internet certainly helps a lot of the information percolate up to the public level more easily.

At any rate, getting away from the meta-analysis of this, something that I noticed insinuated in the way multiple sources wrote their articles was that it seemed like Ackman was really pushing this new charge, and EHH was stepping back more; probably because EHH is bound by direct conflicts of interest by running one of the parties involved in such a merger.

Zeke wrote:Cant beat these RR soap operas to liven up things around here.

Indeed. Now UPS has decided to throw in their two cents and come out against a merger. Fair use quote from Trains.com article:

"UPS is concerned that this combination would lead to diminished rail intermodal service levels and increased costs for all segments of rail customers,” UPS wrote in a letter to the Surface Transportation Board. “In addition, UPS is concerned about potential industry consolidation as a reaction to a NS-CP merger, which would only further negatively impact freight rail shippers.”

Link to article (No Paywall, but registration required): http://trn.trains.com/news/news-wire/20 ... nst-merger" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

They even set up a website...
http://cpconsolidation.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Ackman & co. must be getting worried

NS strategy is multi faceted but follows the same pattern; whine and moan to the lobbyists, politicians in their pockets and sympathetic shippers. UPS is Atlanta based and has it's hooks in NS and vice versa. The drip drip drip of shippers and politicians called on to save the incompetent NS management is carefully scripted as they have hired an army of lobbyists. Listened to the interview of EHH after the BB&T investors conference yesterday. He had to filter his remarks carefully but he said the STB was created to be a body apart from political influence and rule on the merits of mergers. If the politicians and lobbyists were going to decide the CP-NS merger why did Congress bother to create the STB ? He wrote to all the U.S. politicians who have expressed opposition and offered to meet with them so far none have replied. He also decried UP and the other roads to a lesser degree carping about the proposed merger and stated UP was adding to the Chicago congestion by insisting on long hauling all eastbound interchange to Chicago rather than turning traffic over at less congested interchanges that may include UP shorthauling some traffic. Hinting again the Big four are playing all ends against the middle. EHH said customer service at some point was paramount than short sightedness on the part of UP pointing to more liberal reciprocal switching, trackage and haulage rights under Canadian regulation

When asked about the non binding shareholder resolution to be presented at the spring meeting and what if NS ignored it he said, " Well If was a CEO of any company and the majority of shareholders vote to open a dialogue with another company regarding possible merger and its benefits I would certainly look into as they are shareholders and they own the company."

Got it. You and EHH are right and the rest of the world is dead wrong. Next post ...

EHH is trying his best to assuage the agenda driven folk in the NS orbit. He is a consummate professional, in my opinion, but the only defense the failed anti labor hidebound NS management can mount is a..... Help we are under attack save us. No mention or thought of their fiduciary duty to the shareholders or perhaps let us step aside and maybe for the good of the company let better qualified people run the place. Nope not those folks. So myself and EHH will be content to let the entire planet Earth and quite possibly the universe be wrong for now.

According to ones own viewpoint, railroading's version of Beelzebub or railroad titan, EHH speaks Feb 17 at a Barclays conference.


http://www.cpr.ca/en/investors/barclays ... conference" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I guess they're not done with CSX either!

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStor ... s-37343532" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Jmusolf wrote:I guess they're not done with CSX either!

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStor ... s-37343532" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Gee, nothing makes a woman want to marry you more than telling her she's your second choice.