THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, April 21, 1995 TAG: 9504210537
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CHRISTOPHER DINSMORE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 87 lines
The prospect of Norfolk Southern Corp. buying Conrail Inc. to gain rail access to Northeast markets has reared its head again.
Closely followed stock commentator Dan Dorfman said Thursday that Norfolk Southern Corp. and CSX Corp. may be bidding for Conrail Inc.
Dorfman, a commentator for CNBC-TV, told viewers that Conrail may be acquired for about $75 per share, or $6 billion. Dorfman didn't disclose his sources, but said bidders could include Norfolk-based Norfolk Southern and Richmond-based CSX.
None of the three railroad companies would comment on Dorfman's statement.
``He (Dorfman) periodically has theories about things,'' said one railroad analyst, who did not want to be named. ``I wouldn't put much credence in anything happening soon.''
Dorfman, the former investment columnist of USA Today and New York magazine, now writes a column for Money magazine. He does daily commentary on CNBC.
The stock market shrugged off his comments Thursday. In trading on the New York Stock Exchange, Philadelphia-based Conrail's stock jumped up $2 1/4 per share to $55 1/4 after his comments before settling to $54 a share.
Norfolk Southern stock rose 5/8 to $65 1/4 per share. CSX, which reported Thursday a 64 percent increase in first-quarter earnings, saw its stock rise $1 to $81 1/4.
Norfolk Southern made a run at Conrail last summer, but a number of factors combined to derail its bid by the end of September, including the very real possibility of stiff opposition from CSX. A Norfolk Southern-Conrail combination would blanket the eastern half of the United States with more than 26,000 miles of rail.
Conrail issued a statement in late September that its strategy ``provides a sound foundation upon which to base Conrail's near-term future as an independent entity.''
Conrail is the only large railroad serving New York and Boston with connections west to Chicago and St. Louis. Conrail is the product of a government bailout of a number of bankrupt railroads in the 1970s.
Norfolk Southern and CSX serve markets in the southeastern and midwest United States. The companies see north-south business on the East Coast as a huge potential source of new revenue, but would need Conrail's connections in the Northeast to make it work.
The prospect of Norfolk Southern Corp. buying Conrail Inc. to gain rail access to Northeast markets has reared its head again.
Closely followed stock commentator Dan Dorfman said Thursday that Norfolk Southern Corp. and CSX Corp. may be bidding for Conrail Inc.
Dorfman, a commentator for CNBC-TV, told viewers that Conrail may be acquired for about $75 per share, or $6 billion. Dorfman didn't disclose his sources, but said bidders could include Norfolk-based Norfolk Southern and Richmond-based CSX.
None of the three railroad companies would comment on Dorfman's statement.
``He (Dorfman) periodically has theories about things,'' said one railroad analyst, who did not want to be named. ``I wouldn't put much credence in anything happening soon.''
Dorfman, the former investment columnist of USA Today and New York magazine, now writes a column for Money magazine. He does daily commentary on CNBC.
The stock market shrugged off his comments Thursday. In trading on the New York Stock Exchange, Philadelphia-based Conrail's stock jumped up $2 1/4 per share to $55 1/4 after his comments before settling to $54 a share.
Norfolk Southern stock rose 5/8 to $65 1/4 per share. CSX, which reported Thursday a 64 percent increase in first-quarter earnings, saw its stock rise $1 to $81 1/4.
Norfolk Southern made a run at Conrail last summer, but a number of factors combined to derail its bid by the end of September, including the very real possibility of stiff opposition from CSX. A Norfolk Southern-Conrail combination would blanket the eastern half of the United States with more than 26,000 miles of rail.
Conrail issued a statement in late September that its strategy ``provides a sound foundation upon which to base Conrail's near-term future as an independent entity.''
Conrail is the only large railroad serving New York and Boston with connections west to Chicago and St. Louis. Conrail is the product of a government bailout of a number of bankrupt railroads in the 1970s.
Norfolk Southern and CSX serve markets in the southeastern and midwest United States. The companies see north-south business on the East Coast as a huge potential source of new revenue, but would need Conrail's connections in the Northeast to make it work. by CNB