CP CEO: No merger offer to CSX

Hunter Harrison said that despite a couple of meetings, a deal was never on the table.    Canadian Pacific Chief Executive Officer Hunter Harrison Tuesday clarified his recent merger conversations with CSX officials, saying the Canadian railroad was “not rebuffed” and that it did not send CSX a merger proposal.
   Officials from the two carriers met three of four times about the possibility of a merger, he said. Combining the two carriers would have been a “huge opportunity” that would have boosted shareholder value on both sides of the equation and helped ease Chicago congestion.
   “We did not make an offer to CSX. We contacted CSX, had a dialogue with them and asked them if they would be interested in exploring opportunities,” he said in a conference call. “We had a fascinating conversation about the potential but it became evident that we saw the world a little differently, which is fine.”
   After news of the secret merger talks broke in the Wall Street Journal, industry analysts said regulators would never approve such a deal. Harrison thinks otherwise.
   “A lot of people have taken the position that there is no way that this transaction would be approved by the STB,” he said. “We don’t agree with that.”