US railroad KCS to merge with CP, end CN deal
US railroad Kansas City Southern (KCS) is swapping merger partners again, replacing its planned $33.6bn combination with Canadian National (CN) for a $31bn deal with original suitor Canadian Pacific (CP), to create a single railroad stretching from Canada to Mexico.
KCS said today its board of directors has determined that CP's latest offer is "superior" to its merger agreement with CN.
CN is evaluating its options and "will make carefully considered decisions in the interests of all CN shareholders and stakeholders and in line with our strategic priorities," the railroad told Argus today.
The merger battle began on 21 March when KCS announced a plan to merge with CP in a $29bn deal. CN made two counteroffers, eventually increasing its proposal to $33.6bn and securing KCS' agreement.
CP has always maintained it would eventually end up merging with KCS, since unlike CN its railroad network does not overlap with that of KCS. CN and KCS' rail networks overlapped in a number of places, raising the risk of costly and lengthy negotiations to resolve rail competition issues.
CP is excited to move forward and "remains committed to everything this opportunity presents," CP chief executive Keith Creel said today.
CP made a $31bn counteroffer on 10 August, but KCS at the time said it did not meet the terms of a superior proposal that would let the CN deal be overturned. But CP reiterated that same proposal on 31 August, and KCS on 4 September said CP's offer might be a superior proposal.
US rail regulator the Surface Transportation Board dealt what appears to have been a fatal blow to CN's merger plans when it turned down CN's request to use a voting trust to purchase and hold KCS while the agency reviewed the merger application.
CN had chosen to abide by legally untested merger rules put in place in 2001 that require the public will benefit from a trust arrangement. STB determined CP's proposed voting trust did not demonstrate enough public benefits.
STB has already approved CP's plan to use a voting trust, using older STB merger rules that do not put as much emphasis on public benefits. Confident it would win KCS in the end, CP had sought STB approval of its trust, even though KCS had switched to merge with CN.
KCS has until 5pm EDT on 20 September to officially accept CP's offer. The deal is still subject to approval of CP and KCS shareholders, as well as the STB and other regulators.
CP expects to complete the merger during the second half of 2022.
Related news posts
US reimposes Venezuela oil sanctions
US reimposes Venezuela oil sanctions
The most immediate impact of the decision is likely to be a re-routing of Venezuelan oil flows, write Haik Gugarats and Kuganiga Kuganeswaran Washington, 19 April (Argus) — The US administration on 17 April reimposed sanctions targeting Venezuela's oil exports and energy-sector investments, and set a deadline of 31 May for most foreign companies to wind down business with state-owned oil firm PdV. The US decision rescinds a sanctions waiver issued in October that allowed Venezuela to sell oil freely to any buyer and invite foreign investment in the country's energy sector. The waiver, which was due to expire on 18 April, was tied to Caracas' agreement to hold a competitive presidential election and allow opposition politicians to contest it. Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro's government reneged on this deal by refusing to register leading opposition candidate Maria Corina Machado or an alternative candidate designated by her, a senior US official says. The US considered the potential effects on global energy markets and other factors in its decision, but "fundamentally, the decision was based on the actions and non-actions of the Venezuelan authorities", the official says. Separate sanctions waivers granted to Chevron and oil field service companies Halliburton, SLB, Baker Hughes and Weatherford will remain in place. Chevron will be allowed to continue lifting oil from its joint venture with PdV, solely for imports to the US. US-bound Venezuelan crude volumes averaged 133,000 b/d last year, up from nothing in 2022. Chevron says its Venezuela output was 150,000 b/d at the end of 2023. Argus estimated Venezuela's crude output at 850,000 b/d in March, up by 150,000 b/d on the year. PdV says it will seek to change the terms of its nine active joint ventures , starting with Spain's Repsol, in a bid to boost production. Sanctions impact The reimposition of sanctions will primarily affect Venezuelan exports to India and China. India has emerged as a major new destination for Venezuelan crude since the US lifted sanctions in October, having imported 152,000 b/d in March. Two more Venezuelan cargoes are heading to India and expected to arrive before the 31 May deadline. The VLCC Caspar left the Jose terminal on 14 March and is expected to arrive at an as-yet-unknown Indian west coast port on 26 April. The Suezmax Tinos left Venezuela on 18 March and is due at Sikka on 30 April. Chinese imports of Venezuelan Merey, often labelled as diluted bitumen, have been lower since October. Independent refiners in Shandong, which benefited from wide discounts on the sanctioned Venezuelan crude, cut back imports to just a fraction of pre-relief levels as prices rose, while state-controlled PetroChina was able to resume imports under the waiver. The Merey discount to Brent had already widened in anticipation of the reimposition of sanctions. Separate US authorisations previously issued to Repsol and Italy's Eni to allow oil-for-debt deals with PdV and enable a Shell project to import natural gas from Venezuela's Dragon field to Trinidad and Tobago are expected to remain in place. Repsol imported 23,000 b/d of Venezuelan crude to Spain last year and 29,000 b/d so far this year, according to data from oil analytics firm Vortexa. US sanctions enforcers as a rule do not disclose the terms of private sanctions licences, and the European companies were not immediately available to comment. The US would still consider future requests for sanctions waivers for specific energy projects, another senior official says. The US administration says it will consider lifting the sanctions again if Maduro's government allows opposition candidates to participate in the July presidential election. The US' action on 17 April "should not be viewed as a final decision that we no longer believe Venezuela can hold competitive and inclusive elections", a third senior official says. Chinese imports of Venezuelan crude Venezuelan crude exports Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
US restricts future oil leasing in NPR-A
US restricts future oil leasing in NPR-A
Washington, 19 April (Argus) — President Joe Biden's administration today finalized a rule to prohibit future oil leasing on nearly half of the 23mn-acre National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A), adding to a flurry of recent environmental regulations that have frustrated oil interests. The rule will make it harder for oil producers to expand beyond development in the northeast section of NPR-A, where ConocoPhillips is developing its $8bn Willow drilling project. The rule outright bans new leasing on 10.6mn acres of the reserve, including around the ecologically sensitive Teshekpuk lake "special area" that is believed to hold large volumes of crude. The rule also restricts future leasing on an additional 2mn acres in the NPR-A that includes other special areas. "These natural wonders demand our protection," Biden said. "I am proud that my administration is taking action to conserve more than 13mn acres in the western Arctic." The US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) said it received more than 100,000 comments on its proposal to limit oil leasing in the NPR-A, a federal area established in 1923 where commercial oil production began only in 2015. The restrictions came after former president Donald Trump tried to increase drilling in the NPR-A through a plan to allow leasing on an additional 7mn acres, including around Teshekpuk lake. With the rule complete, BLM said it plans to solicit input on whether to revise the boundaries of the "special areas" and identify additional lands in NPR-A that could qualify for protection. Biden administration officials previously described the rule as creating a "one-way ratchet" for conservation that a new administration could not reverse. The rule will not affect existing oil and gas leases in NPR-A, including Biden's decision in 2023 to approve the Willow project, which is expected to reach a peak output of 180,000 b/d and that environmentalists strongly opposed. BLM said the 10.6mn acres of NPR-A that it closed to leasing has only medium or low potential for oil and gas resources. Environmentalists cheered the new NPR-A restrictions, with Sierra Club executive director Ben Jealous calling it a "major victory" for the arctic. But oil industry groups say the restrictions are a step in the wrong direction, adding to other recent regulations they say will make it hard to produce energy on federal land. BLM recently finalized more stringent bonding requirements for onshore and offshore land, in addition to finalizing a plan to lease federal land for conservation. "This misguided rule from the Biden administration sharply limits future oil and natural gas development in Alaska's National Petroleum Reserve, a region explicitly intended by Congress to bolster America's energy security," American Petroleum Institute senior vice president of regulatory affairs Dustin Meyer said. The administration has been working to finish regulations in recent weeks ahead of an upcoming deadline where any rule could be subject to "disapproval" in 2025 under the Congressional Review Act. The exact deadline remains in flux because it depends on how long the US Congress stays in session, but it could arrive as early as next month. By Chris Knight Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Phosphates: Indian DAP stocks build in March
Phosphates: Indian DAP stocks build in March
London, 19 April (Argus) — DAP stocks rose by the equivalent of 2-3 import cargoes in March, or nearly 86,000t, as imports and local production outstripped offtake. Indian DAP production reached 218,900t in March, according to FAI data, down nearly 41pc on the same month in 2023. DAP imports reached 201,000t in March, down nearly 54pc on March 2023. Sales of DAP reached 334,200t, down nearly 12pc year on year. Stock draw/build, defined as production plus imports minus offtake, was plus 85,700t. This implies that stocks are still close to 2mn t of DAP, as estimated by the Indian government. Full fertilizer year DAP production (April 2023-March 2024) reached 4.29mn t, down around 1pc year on year. Imports were down 15.4pc at 5.57mn t, mainly due to the loss of supply from China owing to customs inspections, with sales at 10.8mn t, up nearly 4pc year on year. By Mike Nash Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Limited strike on Iran opens door to de-escalation
Limited strike on Iran opens door to de-escalation
Dubai, 19 April (Argus) — A limited aerial assault on the central Iranian city of Isfahan earlier today could mark the beginning of the end of the latest escalation in the Mideast Gulf. Iranian state media reported in the early hours of Friday, 19 April, several explosions over Isfahan at 04:00 local time. These were later confirmed by the Iranian military to have been the result of air defences bringing down three small drones over the city. Isfahan is the home to a number of strategically important facilities, among them the Shekari airbase that houses some of Iran's F-14 Tomcat fighter planes and SU-24 Sukhoi bombers, and a uranium conversion facility. There was "no impact or damage" to either, according to Iranian army commander-in-chief Seyyed Abdolrahim Mousavi. Other Iranian officials also sought to downplay the strike. Hossein Dalirian, spokesman for Iran's National Center for Cyberspace, said on social media platform X that it was so minor "it would not be considered an attack anywhere in the world." Ice Brent crude futures rose by nearly $3/bl earlier today, but are now trading below the previous settlement level. Iran and the wider Mideast Gulf region were on high alert as Israel weighed its options for a response to Tehran's assault on Israeli territory last weekend. That attack, involving more than 300 drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles, was the first ever direct assault on Israel from Iranian territory. As yet, there has been no official confirmation from either side that today's attack originated from Israel. Media reports quoted unnamed US and Israeli officials saying Israel had launched the drones, and Oman's foreign ministry condemned Israel "for its attack this morning on Isfahan". Iran's attack on Israel last weekend was itself in response to a suspected Israeli air strike on an Iranian diplomatic compound in the Syrian capital, Damascus, at the start of April. That killed seven members of Iran's powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), including two generals. Despite its magnitude, the Iranian retaliation was not only highly choreographed, but also telegraphed to key stakeholders beforehand in an effort to limit damage and casualties. Israel said immediately after the attack that almost all of Iran's drones and missiles were intercepted with the help of allied forces in the region and that there were no fatalities, only "light" damage to the Nevatim military base in Israel's Negev desert. De-escalatory strike The limited nature of Iran's strike prompted Israel's western allies to urge it to show restraint. The US appealed to Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to "take the win" and claim victory for its defence. But as it became increasingly clear that a response without a military dimension would be unpalatable for Israel, the US and Europe turned their efforts to making sure whatever Israel chose to do was also limited and fell below a threshold that could trigger yet another escalation in tensions. "This was probably the level of attack that on one hand was necessitated by internal Israeli calculations within the security cabinet and broader political coalition, and by virtue of the pressure by allies and what the US was willing to countenance," said Geneva Graduate Institute senior research associate Farzan Sabet. "It was a limited strike with the message that we can hit you anywhere, anytime, and without having to resort to a major strike involving 300-plus missiles." In the days following Iran's attack on Israel, several key IRGC figures said Tehran had "decided to create a new equation with Israel" ꟷ specifically that Tehran would retaliate to any Israeli attack on its interests or citizens from Iranian territory. This would be a shift from the previous status quo, which would see Israel regularly target Iranian interest and officials in third countries, many times without response from Tehran. But the limited nature of Israel's latest attack, and the very concerted effort by Iranian officials, military personnel and media to downplay its severity and impact so far, suggests it could feasibly provide a de-escalatory off-ramp for Iran. "Should Israel's response be limited to this, the Islamic Republic will not be under pressure to retaliate," said Arab Gulf States Institute senior fellow Ali Alfoneh. But is too early to say whether today's incident is the totality of Israel's response. "We're running up to [the Jewish holiday of] Passover [on 22-30 April]. The Israelis may not have wanted to carry out a major retaliation ahead of Passover so as to avoid the threat of war hanging over the country during the holiday," Sabet said. "So it is very possible that more [retaliatory attacks] could come after Passover." By Nader Itayim Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Business intelligence reports
Get concise, trustworthy and unbiased analysis of the latest trends and developments in oil and energy markets. These reports are specially created for decision makers who don’t have time to track markets day-by-day, minute-by-minute.
Learn more