In a deal The New York Times called “one of the most compelling dealmaking sagas” of 2021, Frank Aquila and Andrew Gerlach helped Canadian Pacific outmaneuver a competing bidder to acquire Kansas City Southern. The $31 billion transaction—which is the first major U.S. railroad deal since 1999 and will create the first railroad from Canada to Mexico—earned Frank and Andrew recognition in The American Lawyer’s annual Dealmakers of the Year feature. This is Frank’s second time on the list and Andrew’s first.
Although Canadian National outbid Canadian Pacific by $2 billion, Frank and Andrew guided their client in launching a proxy contest to defeat Canadian National’s offer, which slowed the KCS shareholder approval process and caused investors to question the deal. S&C helped Canadian Pacific receive authorization from the Surface Transportation Board to use a voting trust for the deal. The STB’s denial of Canadian National’s application to use a similar voting trust cleared the way for KCS to accept Canadian Pacific’s offer.
In addition to Frank and Andrew, Eric Krautheimer, Melissa Sawyer and Isaac Wheeler were also named Dealmakers of the Year for AT&T’s spin-off of WarnerMedia into Discovery. In the past 24 years, S&C lawyers have been named Dealmakers of the Year by The American Lawyer a total of 25 times, the most of any law firm.