Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. is ready to end efforts to buy Norfolk Southern Corp. if shareholders of the U.S. railroad reject a resolution calling for merger talks, the head of the Calgary-based company said.
Asked by an analyst at a BB&T Corp. conference if a defeat of the resolution would mark the end of efforts to acquire Norfolk Southern, Canadian Pacific CEO Hunter Harrison said, “Yes, I think so.”
“We’re making preparations that if we’re not successful in entering a dialogue, that we’re going to go back and focus on running” the railroad, Harrison said, according to a recording of the event. “And making it even more successful and having a good year and rewarding shareholders.”
Canada’s second-largest railroad plans to submit a resolution to Norfolk Southern investors requesting that the U.S. company’s board “engage in good-faith discussions,” Canadian Pacific said in a statement Feb. 9. Norfolk Southern has rejected several approaches, including one in December that valued the U.S. carrier at $27 billion.
Canadian Pacific won’t present an alternative slate of directors at Norfolk Southern’s 2016 annual meeting.
