Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern finalize merger

Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern today made their rail merger official, a month after federal regulators with the U.S. Surface Transportation Board (STB) approved the deal under conditions concerning competitive rates, environmental impacts, worker protections, and passenger rail access.

Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) had been fighting for months to win a green light for the $31 billion acquisition, saying it would create “the first and only single-line railway connecting Canada, the U.S. and Mexico.” CP won that contest after a rival bid from fellow freight carrier Canadian National was turned aside by U.S. antitrust regulators.

The formal business merger became complete today when shares of Kansas City Southern (KCS) were transferred from a voting trust—where they had been stored to ensure independence during the review process—to an affiliate of CP. With that step complete, the combined companies are now known as a new corporation called Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC), with its global headquarters in Calgary, Alberta, and a network of some 20,000 miles of rail and 20,000 employees.

Also today, Isabelle Courville, chair of the board of directors of CPKC, announced the appointment of four new directors to that board, all drawn from the now-defunct KCS board as agreed through the merger. They are: David Garza-Santos, Ambassador Antonio Garza (Ret.), Henry Maier, and Janet Kennedy. They will now join a board that intends to roll out a full integration of CP and KCS over the next three years, ultimately unlocking the benefits of the combination, the company said.

"This unmatched CPKC network will give our customers new options and expanded reach to more markets as we provide reliable rail service, take trucks off public roads and raise the bar on rail safety by expanding CP's industry-leading safety practices," CPKC President and CEO Keith Creel said in a release. "The public, environmental, competitive and safety benefits of this historic combination are extraordinary for our railroaders, communities, rail customers and the North American economy."