WASHINGTON — Surface Transportation Board Chairman Martin J. Oberman says he’s disappointed that executives from Ancora Holdings, the activist investor firm engaged in a proxy battle with Norfolk Southern, have yet to schedule a meeting to discuss its goals for the railroad.
Ancora Holdings Group Chairman and CEO Frederick DiSanto and Ancora Alternatives President James Chadwick wrote to Oberman on Feb. 5 to summarize their views about NS. They also wrote that they would be available to speak with Oberman about NS, CEO Alan Shaw, and the railroad’s board of directors.
Oberman’s office called Ancora the next day to arrange a meeting. “You responded by indicating that Ancora was not prepared to meet at that time, despite your offer,” Oberman wrote. “I am disappointed that you have not yet scheduled a meeting.”
Oberman, who will retire from the STB this year, added: “Given the concerns about your real goals for the company raised by numerous other rail stakeholders and by me over the past month, I would think a meeting to more fully discuss the future of NS would be beneficial. I await your response.”
Oberman has been highly critical of Ancora’s effort to gain a majority of seats on the NS board and oust Shaw and Chief Operating Officer Paul Duncan. The proxy contest poses a threat to the railroad industry and the U.S. economy and may prompt new regulations, Oberman told a shipper conference last month.
Regulators are concerned that Ancora’s short-term focus on cost-cutting could lead to another service crisis related to a shortage of train crews. “This effort by a Wall Street firm—with short-term dollar signs in its eyes—to strip resources out of a railroad, of course, is not new,” Oberman said at the Southeast Association of Rail Shippers conference.
Oberman also was skeptical of Ancora’s claim that its proxy battle was motivated by improving safety at Norfolk Southern. Ancora is based in Cleveland, about 90 miles from East Palestine, Ohio, the site of the disastrous Feb. 3, 2023, hazardous materials wreck involving a Norfolk Southern train.
DiSanto and Chadwick told Oberman that their investment in NS was about “much more than the pursuit of financial returns due to the disastrous tragedy in East Palestine, Ohio. This community is a short drive from us, meaning we have friends and loved ones directly impacted by the disaster.”
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