CN to ditch EW&S?

Martyn Read · Sep 28, 2002

News from The Guardian...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,3604,800641,00.html

Leading freight firm put up for sale

Andrew Clark
Saturday September 28, 2002
The Guardian

Britain's biggest rail freight company, EWS, has effectively been put up for sale following a decision by its biggest shareholder, Canadian National Railways, to exit the business.
EWS announced yesterday that it had appointed investment bank Morgan Stanley to review its strategic options, which it said included a flotation, the sale of shares to new investors or a refinancing.

Canadian National Railways, which owns a 42% stake, has made no secret of its lack of interest in EWS. It inherited the shares through a takeover of Wisconsin Central Transportation a year ago, but has waited for stability in Britain's railway industry before trying to sell.

A spokesman for EWS's parent firm, EWS Holdings, said: "Canadian National have made it clear that their stake in EWS was strategic, but that they did not see it as a permanent one."

Industry sources said EWS was making a small profit, despite disruption to its channel tunnel trains by asylum seekers. Its three other shareholders - US bank Goldman Sachs, Boston-based Berkshire Partners and Swiss firm Fay Richwhite - are thought to be less keen to sell.

EWS is by far the biggest freight rail firm in Britain, running more than 1,100 trains a day. The company moves over 100m tonnes of goods a year and employs 6,100 people. It was formed in 1996 and acquired five of the six British Rail freight companies sold when the railways were privatised.

Industry sources said that, although rail freight had shown little growth in recent years, its prospects were improving. The government aims to increase the volume of goods transported on the railways by 80% before 2010.

Click to expand...

Alan · Sep 29, 2002

Hmmm.... interesting. I wonder who will be the new owners of our major freight operator? Probably a foreign company, maybe from europe?

John Whitby · Sep 29, 2002

Wishful thinking on my part

John

Alan · Sep 30, 2002

Nice one, John Yeah, why not?

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CN to ditch EW&S?

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