Bn And Santa Fe Alter Meeting Dates

Santa Fe Pacific Corp. and Burlington Northern Inc. have rescheduled their shareholders’ meetings to meet legal requirements related to their proposed merger.

The companies said in a statement the meetings will be held Feb. 7 instead of Jan 27.

Shareholders are scheduled to consider Burlington’s $3.8 billion cash and stock offer for Santa Fe. However, Union Pacific Corp. has also offered $3.8 billion in a hostile bid for Santa Fe.

The postponement reflects a required 20-day waiting period between Securities and Exchange Commission approval of the proxy - or ballot - for Burlington’s proposed acquisition of Santa Fe and the meeting date.

At stake in the fight for Santa Fe is domination of western U.S. rail service through acquisition of the nation’s seventh-largest railroad.

Santa Fe’s route from Chicago to Southern California is more direct than that of Union Pacific, the nation’s largest railroad company by revenue. Burlington Northern is the nation’s second-largest railroad.