Activist investor critical of CN disclosure of board member’s resignation

Logo for TCI Fund Management

LONDON — Activist investor TCI Fund Management, which is seeking to oust Canadian National’s top management, criticized the railway’s corporate governance practices today after the resignation of one of CN’s board members. “It has come to our attention that Julie Godin, CN’s youngest female director, resigned from the Board on September 16, 2021 — the […]

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‘City of New Orleans’ returns to its namesake city

Bilevel passenger train on concrete trestle with construction crane behind it

NEW ORLEANS — After first being turned back to Chicago at Memphis, Tenn., and later at Jackson, Miss., Amtrak’s City of New Orleans will finally make its grand entrance to the Crescent City one month after Hurricane Ida slammed into Louisiana with torrential rains and strong winds. The southbound train departing Chicago today and its […]

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Canadian National to boost profits, cut costs as it fights activist investor

JJ Ruest

MONTREAL — Canadian National is fighting back. In the wake of an activist investor’s call for a management shakeup and improved financial results, CN today announced a “Full Speed Ahead” plan to reduce its operating ratio, cut capital spending, and increase shareholder returns through a combination of earnings growth and share buybacks. CN is targeting […]

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CN fined $2.5 million by Canadian environmental agency

Canadian National logo

PRINCE RUPERT, British Columbia — Canadian National has been fined C$2.5 million for spraying pesticides near a river along its line to the port of Prince Rupert, B.C., in violation of the federal fisheries act, Environment and Climate Change Canada announced in a press release. The fine comes after CN entered a guilty plea on […]

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Canadian National drops pursuit of KCS, clearing way for Canadian Pacific-KCS merger (updated)

Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern engines on freight train

  KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The four-month battle for Kansas City Southern is officially over. KCS and Canadian National ripped up their $33.6 billion merger agreement today, 15 days after the Surface Transportation Board denied CN’s request to place KCS into an independent voting trust. Canadian Pacific and KCS, with voting trust approval already in […]

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Major CN stockholder makes formal call for shareholder meeting, says it will nominate four new board members

Canadian National logo

LONDON — Activist investor TCI Fund Management has formally requested a special meeting of Canadian National’s shareholders and named four individuals it will nominate for the railroad’s board of directors. “We did not seek a proxy fight,” Chris Hohn, TCI founder and managing partner, said in a Monday press release, “but without urgent action CN’s […]

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Kansas City Southern accepts Canadian Pacific merger offer

Logos for Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Southern on Sunday accepted Canadian Pacific’s $300 per share merger offer, spurning Canadian National’s higher bid due to its regulatory obstacles. In a midday press release, KCS said its board had determined CP’s revised offer constituted a “Company Superior Proposal” as defined in the agreement with CN. CP extended the […]

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CN announces vaccination requirement for Canadian employees

Canadian National logo

MONTREAL — Canadian National has announced it will require COVID-19 vaccinations for all employees in Canada by Nov. 1. In a press release, the railroad says the policy will apply to employees, new hires, those at CN’s wholly owned subsidiaries, and “contractors, consultants, agents and suppliers, and anyone who accesses CN’s Canadian properties. Requests for medical […]

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‘City of New Orleans’ service to remain suspended south of Jackson, Miss.

Amtrak logo.

NEW ORLEANS — Amtrak’s City of New Orleans continues to operate over only a portion of its route as Canadian National crews continue to repair damage in the wake of Hurricane Ida. An Amtrak advisory notes that effective with the Wednesday, Sept. 8, southbound departure from Chicago, the train will operate to Jackson, Miss., with […]

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Activist investor plans to call for meeting to remake CN board

Logo for TCI Fund Management

LONDON — Activist investor TCI Fund Management says it will call for a special meeting of Canadian National shareholders to nominate at least five new members of the board of directors, and has hired shareholder advisory and communications firm Kingsdale Advisors to help halt CN’s pursuit of Kansas City Southern. Chris Hohn, TCI founder and […]

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Kansas City Southern moves toward a merger agreement with Canadian Pacific (updated)

Red locomotive leads multicolored locomotives in snow

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Kansas City Southern is inching toward making Canadian Pacific its merger partner. KCS said today that it will begin merger discussions with CP after its board unanimously determined that CP’s Aug. 10 bid could be deemed superior to the agreement it reached with Canadian National in May. The U.S. Surface Transportation Board’s […]

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Activist investor says it is building support for CN management changes

Logo for TCI Fund Management

TORONTO — Activist investor TCI Fund Management says it is building support among other shareholders for its effort to replace Canadian National’s CEO and board chairman in the wake of the regulatory setback for CN’s effort to purchase Kansas City Southern. The Toronto Globe and Mail, in a paywalled article, reports TCI partner Ben Walker […]

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