Benzinga | May 4, 2021 07:26AM EDT

CN Says It Has 'continued to receive support from customers, suppliers, elected officials and other stakeholders for its proposed combination with Kansas City Southern'

CN (TSX:CNR, NYSE:CNI) today announced that it has continued to receive support from customers, suppliers, elected officials and other stakeholders for its proposed combination with Kansas City Southern (NYSE:KSU) ("KCS").

100 additional letters have been sent to CN and filed with the Surface Transportation Board ("STB") in favor of CN's proposed combination with KCS, bringing the total number of support letters CN has received to more than 700. Of note, 66 of the letters filed with the STB explicitly support CN's proposed combination with KCS, and 34 of the letters specifically ask the Board to approve CN's use of a voting trust. CN will continue to communicate and engage with its customers and various stakeholders as it works towards an agreed transaction with KCS.

A full copy of the CN's letter filed with the STB appears below:

In the two weeks since Canadian National Railway Company ("CN") publiclyannounced its proposal for a combination with Kansas City Southern ("KCS"),over 700 stakeholders have submitted letters publicly expressing their supportfor the proposed transaction. In this filing, CN adds 100 letters to the 620support statements that were filed last week in CN-4, CN-9, and CN-10.1 66 of these letters explicitly support the proposed combination of KCS and CN,for reasons that echo the 620 letters that CN has previously submitted.Customers are responding to the pro-competitive benefits of a transaction thatwould provide better service options, promote growth, and create a seamless,integrated North American railway that can compete head-to-head with trucks fornorth-south movements. 34 of the enclosed letters specifically focus on CN's request that the Boardapprove its voting trust agreement, and ask the Board to approve that proposedvoting trust. Many voting trust letters are from stakeholders who support theultimate transaction. Others are from customers who are still evaluating theproposed combination, but who wholeheartedly support CN's use of a votingtrust. For example, the Chemours Company does not yet take a position on anultimate CN-KCS combination, but it "unequivocally supports approval of CN'svoting trust" and urges the Board to grant CN's request for simultaneous reviewof CP's and CN's voting trusts to "ensure a level playing field."2 CN looks forward to continued conversations with our customers and otherinterested parties about the proposed CN-KCS combination and why it presentsthe best solution for the continued growth, development and prosperity of theNorth American economy. Respectfully submitted,Sean Finn /s/ Raymond A. Atkins Olivier Chouc Raymond A. AtkinsCN Terence M. Hynes935 de La Gauchetie're Street West, Matthew J. Warren16th Floor Sidley Austin LLPMontreal, QC H3B 2M9 1501 K Street, N.W.CANADA Washington, DC 20005(202) 736-8000Kathryn J. Gainey ratkins@sidley.comCN601 Pennsylvania Ave, NWSuite 500, North BuildingWashington, DC 20004Kathryn.gainey@cn.caCounsel for Canadian National Railway Company, Grand Trunk Corporation, andCN's Rail Operating Subsidiaries