Zapp,
This is a routine cleaning up of the balance sheet by refinancing high cost debt with low cost debt of longer maturity.
The chance of rerouting export grain to Mexican ports is slim to none in my opinion. I suspect is longer mileage than BNSF and UP to PNW and his route has lots of problems the most obvious being Houston-TexMex and mountains in Mexico. I do not think KCS could ever be rate competitive. I also suspect this move would involve elevator investment in Mexico. I would not want to be in either business.
Mac
(The Associated Press circulated the following article on November 21.)KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Regional railroad operator Kansas City Southern on Tuesday said its Mexican subsidiary has placed $175 million worth of senior notes.Kansas City Southern de Mexico SA de CV offered the 7.625 percent notes, due in 2013, to institutional buyers and investors outside of the U.S.The subsidiary will use proceeds to repurchase a portion of its 10.25 percent senior notes due in 2007, as well as to pay down term loan debt.Shares of Kansas City Southern rose 40 cents to $27.95 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
There has been alot of speculation over the past few years that KCS will be bought out by another one the class 1 carriers, but if you read this article, it looks as though Mike Haverty is gonna make someone pay a very pretty penny if they want to gobble up his railroad.
Or he's trying to make his railroad look better to the federal regulators, and his stockholders, before he tries to buy someone else's railroad. If he could sway shippers to use his railroad to move their corn to western Mexico ports instead of the usual Pacific Northwest and Canadian ports (not to mention potentional new business coming out of Iowa in the form of ethanol), Iowa Interstate or Iowa, Chicago and Eastern (ICE) would be a good fit into the NAFTA railroad family.
I guess the question is, Would it be feasible?
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