Latest news with #railmerger
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Report: Goldman Sachs advising BNSF on potential merger
News reports say that BNSF Railway has hired Goldman Sachs to advise it about a potential rail merger. Semafor, an online publication, reported Monday evening that BNSF has engaged Goldman Sachs in the wake of Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP) working with Morgan Stanley regarding a potential merger with Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC). Both reports cited people familiar with the matter. The railroads and investment banks declined to comment. The report said it was not clear whether BNSF was interested in CSX (NASDAQ: CSX) or Norfolk Southern. NS is reportedly the target of Union Pacific, and the two railroads have been in merger talks since the first quarter, the Associated Press reported last week. BNSF is a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, controlled by investor Warren Buffett. The publicly-held Class I railroads begin to report second quarter earnings this week. CSX reports July 23, UP on July 24, and NS, July 29. There has not been a big merger involving the major Class I systems since the Surface Transportation Board adopted tighter merger review regulations in 2001. Subscribe to FreightWaves' Rail e-newsletter and get the latest insights on rail freight right in your UP-NS rail merger spotlights individual legacies in a legacy business Union Pacific, Norfolk Southern in merger talks: WSJ Report: Investment firm advising Union Pacific on potential rail merger BNSF, UP settle dispute over Salt Lake City intermodal service The post Report: Goldman Sachs advising BNSF on potential merger appeared first on FreightWaves. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Reuters
a day ago
- Business
- Reuters
BNSF hires Goldman, CSX seeks bankers as Union Pacific sparks rail M&A race, sources say
July 21 (Reuters) - BNSF Railway has hired Goldman Sachs (GS.N), opens new tab and CSX Corp (CSX.O), opens new tab is in talks to bring on financial advisers, as rival Union Pacific's interest in acquiring Norfolk Southern sparked a wave of deal preparations that could reshape the U.S. freight rail industry, sources said. The moves by BNSF, owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRKa.N), opens new tab , and Jacksonville-based CSX come after Union Pacific (UNP.N), opens new tab began exploring a potential acquisition of Norfolk Southern (NSC.N), opens new tab, which could create a $200 billion coast-to-coast rail network and mark the most significant consolidation in the sector in decades. Any potential deal is expected to undergo intense regulatory scrutiny and remains far from certain. Goldman and CSX declined to comment. BNSF did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Shares of Norfolk Southern were up 2.4% in extended trading. Berkshire bought BNSF in 2010, paying $26.5 billion for the 77.4% of the railroad it didn't already own. The last major rail merger occurred in 2023, when Canadian Pacific acquired Kansas City Southern, forming the first network to span Canada, the U.S. and Mexico. That deal followed a failed bid by Canadian National, underscoring how competitive pressures can quickly escalate in the sector. In 2024, Union Pacific led the industry with $24.3 billion in revenue, followed by BNSF, CSX, Canadian National ( opens new tab Norfolk and Canadian Pacific Kansas City ( opens new tab. Talks between Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern are still in early stages, the people said. Any merger would require approval from the Surface Transportation Board, which could take up to two years. CSX would be a better fit for Union Pacific than Norfolk Southern, said David O'Hara, managing director at MKP Advisors. 'With first-mover advantage, Union Pacific will buy whoever in the East wants to make themselves available," O'Hara said. "And whoever is left out in the cold ultimately will get bought by Burlington Northern - that will almost have to happen."
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
BNSF hires Goldman, CSX seeks bankers as Union Pacific sparks rail M&A race, sources say
By Sabrina Valle (Reuters) -BNSF Railway has hired Goldman Sachs and CSX Corp is in talks to bring on financial advisers, as rival Union Pacific's interest in acquiring Norfolk Southern sparked a wave of deal preparations that could reshape the U.S. freight rail industry, sources said. The moves by BNSF, owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, and Jacksonville-based CSX come after Union Pacific began exploring a potential acquisition of Norfolk Southern, which could create a $200 billion coast-to-coast rail network and mark the most significant consolidation in the sector in decades. Any potential deal is expected to undergo intense regulatory scrutiny and remains far from certain. Goldman and CSX declined to comment. BNSF did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Shares of Norfolk Southern were up 2.4% in extended trading. Berkshire bought BNSF in 2010, paying $26.5 billion for the 77.4% of the railroad it didn't already own. The last major rail merger occurred in 2023, when Canadian Pacific acquired Kansas City Southern, forming the first network to span Canada, the U.S. and Mexico. That deal followed a failed bid by Canadian National, underscoring how competitive pressures can quickly escalate in the sector. In 2024, Union Pacific led the industry with $24.3 billion in revenue, followed by BNSF, CSX, Canadian National Norfolk and Canadian Pacific Kansas City. Talks between Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern are still in early stages, the people said. Any merger would require approval from the Surface Transportation Board, which could take up to two years. CSX would be a better fit for Union Pacific than Norfolk Southern, said David O'Hara, managing director at MKP Advisors. 'With first-mover advantage, Union Pacific will buy whoever in the East wants to make themselves available," O'Hara said. "And whoever is left out in the cold ultimately will get bought by Burlington Northern - that will almost have to happen."
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
A Big Railway Merger Could Be Rolling Closer
A multibillion-dollar rail merger may be chugging closer. Union Pacific (UNP) is in talks to acquire Norfolk Southern (NSC), The Wall Street Journal reported late Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. The deal would merge companies with a combined market value of roughly $200 billion, based on Visible Alpha data. The report set both companies' shares in motion, with Union Pacific recently down 1.7% and Norfolk Southern up more than 3%. Shares of CSX (CSX), which yesterday was the subject of a Semafor story saying it was a possible takeover target, were little changed. All three companies declined to comment. A merger might face considerable regulatory hurdles, though experts generally believe President Donald Trump's administration would be broadly friendly to big deals. Bank of America analysts on Thursday upgraded shares of CSX to a bullish rating, citing "increased potential for M&A discussions to drive valuation interest in US railroads higher." It's been a while since there was a big railway merger. The last, which created Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP), was in 2023. Its shares were off nearly 4% today. "We've long viewed a transformative transcontinental railroad merger as an intriguing possibility," Deutsche Bank analysts wrote yesterday while raising their price target on Union Pacific to $272. The stock closed Thursday just below $270. With the latest news, they wrote, "we ascribe a higher probability to the deal." Read the original article on Investopedia
