Progressive Railroading, April 2016:
Windmills 1, Quixote 0: CP calls off quest for NS — analysis by Tony Hatch
“Thou hast seen nothing yet.”
― Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quixote
“Railways have a bright future, just not via M&A”
— Tony Hatch
Bowing to what seemed the inevitable, E. Hunter Harrison, Bill Ackman and Canadian Pacific on April 11 called off their attempt to merge with Norfolk Southern. Although apparently supported by the investment community, CP halted the effort without a once-expected proxy fight that would have proved that support.
SNIP
CP did fight the good fight, often out-maneuvering the opposition and often on CP's terms; after all, one cannot win often by trying to “out-OR” E. Hunter Harrison. To win, one must change the rules of the debate — toward growth, capex, service. Toward the philosophy of network ownership and stewardship, and away from operational precision ... as critical as that is! Toward return on invested capital.
In effect, the debate centered on this question: Is a railroad its network (the Class I belief) or is it its operators (Hunter)? And CP “lost” because the Class I stakeholder group opposition (6-1) proved too great.
More here.