ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Tuesday, November 26, 1996             TAG: 9611260099
SECTION: BUSINESS                 PAGE: B6   EDITION: METRO 

IN BUSINESS

Conrail sets key shareholder vote

PHILADELPHIA - Conrail Inc. said Monday it has picked Dec. 23 for a key shareholder vote that will help decide the fate of CSX Corp.'s proposed $8.5 billion acquisition of Conrail.

Conrail said it is mailing proxy materials to shareholders for the vote at a special meeting near Conrail headquarters here.

CSX of Richmond is offering $110 a share for the first 40 percent of Conrail, and 1.856 CSX shares for the rest. Norfolk Southern, based in Norfolk, has offered $110 a share in cash.

Last week, CSX said Conrail shareholders had tendered it 85 percent of their shares. But under Pennsylvania law, CSX can't buy more than 19.9 percent of Conrail's shares under its two-tiered bid without shareholder approval, which would clear the way for CSX to buy the remaining shares and seek regulatory approval for the merger.

-Bloomberg Business News

Briefly

* The Treasury Department on Monday sold $14.1 billion in three-month bills at an average discount rate of 5.03 percent, the same as the week before. An additional $14.1 billion was sold in six-month bills at an average rate of 5.07 percent, also unchanged. The three-month bill rate is the highest since 5.04 percent Nov. 4. The six-month bill rate is the lowest since 5.02 percent April 22. The Federal Reserve said the average yield for one-year Treasury bills, the most popular index for adjustable-rate mortgages, rose to 5.42 percent last week from 5.41 percent.

* U.S. coal production fell 1 percent in the week ended Nov. 16, to 20.9 million tons from 21.2 million tons the previous week, the U.S. Department of Energy said Monday. The industry produced 20 million tons in the same week last year. Virginia mines produced 629,000 tons that week, up from 618,000 the previous week but down from 685,000 tons in the same week a year ago. Production so far this year is 945 million tons, 4 percent ahead of last year's at this time.

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