Recent merger proposals

But we're talking about something that could happen, not something that couldn't. And, something that was, evidently, seriously considered - if the NYT story is to be believed, that is.

As far as a stunt, it doesn't make sense that CP would do such a thing just to raise CSX' stock and potentially lower theirs. A quick look at CP shows it was taking a nosedive going into this and it still hasn't gotten much better thus far. Of course, it makes sense that CSX "people" might have passed this information along to the press to their benefit.
 
But that's the thing - it cant happen. There is no way that both companies could merge, even if they did 'seriously consider' it and those 'people' talked about things and agreed, the STB would never say 'okay' in the current form. That is all, period. That isnt to say it wont happen at some point in the future, but for right now - reading that very first WSJ report had me asking "why?". I'm not sure how else to write this since I already explained it above. BUT - all we know is that some people said the companies considered it - and that's it.

I see this stunt centered on CP not CSX.

It's been nice playing, now let's get back to the real world.

Edit: I just wanted to come back and express how glad I am that this is 'Closed' and it can no longer be a topic in both serious discussion and fanatic foaming about it that has taken over the various corners of the net that I frequent. Good riddance.
 
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What do you mean it didn't send CSX stock up? It went up 14%. By contrast, CP stock dropped 23 points (11%) just prior to the initial rumors, and rose just a few points since. I'm assuming, of course, that you realize that CP didn't just wake up last Monday and say, 'How about we consider buying a major railroad today?' These things don't happen overnight.

Also, I really don't see anyone else "foaming" about this besides yourself. Perhaps, we can agree that the fact that it didn't happen is generally for the best?
 
..Yes it didn't happen because it was never going to happen because it can't happen. That is what makes the first report and resulting commotion such rubbish. The 'people' were giving bits of information for speculation nothing more.

RRSignal said:
Lol, for those who thought it was "fictional", it apparently was quite real (at least according to this rag), but ultimately called off:
Click to expand...

Just to be clear in case you couldn't make the connection; My original response to the first posted article was about the quality of content of it, not the validity of CP approaching CSX (but I covered that response in later posts).

Also thanks for the reminder to be careful with the analogies - glad you caught up.
 
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norfolksouthern37 said:
..Yes it didn't happen because it was never going to happen because it can't happen. That is what makes the first report and resulting commotion such rubbish. The 'people' were giving bits of information for speculation nothing more.
Click to expand...

Regardless of the outcome, it ultimately was not "fiction", as you called it, and the "people" turned out to be correct, at least inasfar as the idea was considered, and based on the rag...I mean, New York Times article. Whether it would or wouldn't have been feasible would have been a topic for the next phase. But, the idea that all of this was part of some conspiracy by CP to potentially reduce their stock value while raising CSX' really doesn't make any kind of sense.

Again, I'm not sure why you're getting so worked up over this. It really doesn't matter anyhow what any of us think. Since none of us are major stakeholders in either railroad, or sit on the STB or SEC, it's a safe bet we couldn't have influenced the outcome either way.

Edit: Looks like CP will be talking about mergers in general tomorrow (Oct. 21st) at 1pm via conference call.
 
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I realize that you have some vested interest in trying to prove me wrong or annoy me and that is understandable from your point of view, really I get it, but your constant removal or addition of context to display your point is neither interesting nor intelligent behavior. Nobody is 'worked up'. After I just connected the dots for you, you made the same statement again, so it is pretty obvious you will continue your habits on display throughout the forum.

Since you have nothing to add to this conversation I consider this topic closed.
 
Actually, I edited that largely to be tactful; probably what I originally wrote might have caused you to wig out even more.

For the record, you haven't given an explanation as to why you think this was a part of some grand conspiracy or "market stunt", as you put it. Especially when one considers that CP's stunt could (and may) have lowered their own stock value while clearly raising that of the company they might want to purchase. I'm not going to ask you for the third time to explain how you came to that conclusion. I'm also not sure why you think it "can't happen", yet haven't cited a single law or doctrine which would bar it from being possible.

Frankly, I wish there was one. If there is, great. And, I'll be the first to say that a CP/CSX merger is a bad idea. I don't think we're too far apart on the final result of this matter. In any event, sure, closed.
 
I really don't want to get sucked back into this thread, however, on the count of how and why Mergers happen or not, the easy answer is that every Company/Corp/Inc merger in the U.S. must be approved by the FTC. The FTC essentially has final say in every case, and though you can ignore their ruling and attempt to merge anyway, they can make life very unpleasant for you and your compnay (To the tune that this hasn't happened once yet in US History, to my knowledge).

For more info on this process, and some case examples, start here:
http://www.ftc.gov/news-events/media-resources/mergers-and-competition/merger-review
Also check this one out:
http://www.ftc.gov/about-ftc/what-we-do
Finally, do a google search for "Anti-Trust Laws" etc etc. CP + CSX Merger would end up with a single company in control of over an insanely large areas bulk transportation business. FTC won't let it happen unless they could talk a second company at least into moving in to compete, and thats highly unlikely given the areas that CP and CSX cover, no *single* company at this point could realisticly do that unless some altruistic Rich Multi-Billionaire stepped in and said "I DEEM IT SHALL BE SO!" which has about as much chance of happening as Christmas before Thanksgiving this year (Discounting what Walmart would love to tell you....).

Falcus
 
Falcus said:
I really don't want to get sucked back into this thread, however, on the count of how and why Mergers happen or not, the easy answer is that every Company/Corp/Inc merger in the U.S. must be approved by the FTC. The FTC essentially has final say in every case, and though you can ignore their ruling and attempt to merge anyway, they can make life very unpleasant for you and your compnay (To the tune that this hasn't happened once yet in US History, to my knowledge).

For more info on this process, and some case examples, start here:
http://www.ftc.gov/news-events/media-resources/mergers-and-competition/merger-review
Also check this one out:
http://www.ftc.gov/about-ftc/what-we-do
Finally, do a google search for "Anti-Trust Laws" etc etc. CP + CSX Merger would end up with a single company in control of over an insanely large areas bulk transportation business. FTC won't let it happen unless they could talk a second company at least into moving in to compete, and thats highly unlikely given the areas that CP and CSX cover, no *single* company at this point could realisticly do that unless some altruistic Rich Multi-Billionaire stepped in and said "I DEEM IT SHALL BE SO!" which has about as much chance of happening as Christmas before Thanksgiving this year (Discounting what Walmart would love to tell you....).

Falcus
Click to expand...

Very true...

When the BN attempted to merge with the CN just after merging with the SF. the application was promptly denied due to the fiasco caused by the mega merger created by the BNSF combination. The FRA, FTC, and STB felt that this was too complex and would be to big a company to handle the traffic load.

Now if CPR would take over Pan Am Railways, that would be a different story. This would be an end-to-end merger with the former D&H, and would give CPR a connection to another northeast-based port in Boston and Portland.

John
 
Falcus said:
which has about as much chance of happening as Christmas before Thanksgiving this year (Discounting what Walmart would love to tell you....).
Click to expand...

So true. I've always said that there needs to be a law passed that doesn't allow advertisements for Christmas deals before Halloween. IT DRIVES ME NUTS SEEING COMMERCIALS FOR CHRISTMAS STUFF BEFORE THE HALLOWEEN SALES HAVE STARTED!
 
I hope you're right. Unfortunately, there's a bigger merger before federal regulators: The Comcast-Time Warner merger. The put things in perspective, the combined value of CP ($32b) and CSX ($30b) is less than half of that of Comcast alone ($177b) and would put Comcast in a service position for 2/3s of the U.S.

I sure hope that one doesn't go through, either, though I don't have much faith in federal regulators to act in the best interests of the public.
 
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