BNSF shareholders O.K. Berkshire takeover

BNSF shareholders O.K. Berkshire takeover    Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. shareholders on Thursday approved the company's acquisition by Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
   Holders of about 70 percent of BNSF shares not owned by Berkshire or its affiliates voted in favor of the transaction. Two-thirds approval was required.
   Matthew Rose, chief executive officer of Burlington Northern, said in an interview on CNBC that the deal had “compelling value” for shareholders. The company said the $100 per share Berkshire offered was a 30 percent premium when the deal was announced last year.
   Speaking about the outlook for the rail industry, Rose said the nation’s railroads are moving about 600,000 loads per week, below peak levels of about 750,000 loads a week in 2006-2007, but improved from lows during the recession last year of about 525,000 loads per week.

Rose

   “I think our railroad industry is truly a kaleidoscope of so many basic industries in this country, things are a lot better than they were last year, but they are still nowhere close to where they were at peak volumes,” he said.
   Rose said railroads will benefit from a draw down in coal stockpiles by utilities because of poor weather this winter, and he said agriculture haulage is benefiting from strong exports. But movements of goods related to housing and automobiles, while up modestly, are “still a long way from where this economy needs to be to generate additional jobs,” he said.
   The companies touted the energy efficiency of rail transportation compared to trucking as they announced approval of the deal Thursday.
   “By providing cost-effective and energy-efficient transportation that also benefits the environment, we are moving the goods that are crucial to consumers and our economy as our nation powers its way out of the recession,' Rose said.
   “Over the long term, the nation's demand for transportation is destined to grow. As the most environmentally friendly form of surface transportation, rail is more fuel-efficient for moving freight than using the nation's crowded highways. If just 10 percent of the freight that currently moves by truck were diverted to rail, fuel savings would exceed 1 billion gallons per year and annual greenhouse gas emissions would fall by more than 12 million tons. And as the nation's demand for transportation continues to increase, rail is an obvious solution to meet this challenge,” the companies said in a statement.