Union Pacific, Norfolk Southern Shares Slump as Regulator Pauses $72 Billion Merger Review
Updated
Updated · Bloomberg · May 28
Union Pacific, Norfolk Southern Shares Slump as Regulator Pauses $72 Billion Merger Review
5 articles · Updated · Bloomberg · May 28
Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern shares posted their biggest one-day drops in more than a year after the Surface Transportation Board halted active review of their merger application.
The board accepted the filing Thursday but said the process will stay paused until the railroads provide more information on issues it called unclear or underdeveloped.
July 27 is the deadline for the companies to submit the required supplements, pushing back progress on what would be the largest rail merger ever.
The pause adds a fresh regulatory hurdle to a proposed $72 billion tie-up that investors had been watching as a landmark consolidation in the US freight rail industry.
Will the largest U.S. rail merger lower consumer costs or create a powerful new monopoly?
How would one company controlling coast-to-coast rail lines affect America's supply chain stability?