Canadian Pacific Railway has edged ahead of rival Canadian National in the back-and-forth battle to acquire Kansas City Southern, as a key vote from KCS shareholders and an earlier ruling from the Surface Transportation Board point toward resolution of a duel that has been brewing for the better part of six months. The KCS board of directors on Sept. 4 stated unanimously that it believes the latest CP offer could reasonably be expected to meet a standard it has set for acceptance of an offer. While the $33.6 billion bid CN made in April also met the standard, the STB on Aug. 31 voted against CN’s request to approve an independent voting trust to permit it to operate KCS while regulators reviewed the transaction. That rejection was viewed by observers as a signal that the STB ultimately would not approve the deal.

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