Canadian Pacific ends bid to acquire Norfolk Southern

Canadian Pacific Railway announced Monday that it was ending its hostile takeover bid for American railway Norfolk Southern, which had fought bitterly to block a deal.

"We have long recognized that consolidation is necessary for the North American rail industry to meet the demands of a growing economy," CP chief executive Hunter Harrison said in a statement.

"But with no clear path to a friendly merger at this time, we will turn all of our focus and energy to serving our customers and creating long term value for CP shareholders," he said.

CP had made several offers over the past months to acquire Norfolk Southern, for about $28 billion.

The suitor's aim was to create a massive North American transporter with tracks connecting the Pacific and the Atlantic coasts and the Gulf of Mexico, reducing costs and congestion.

Canadian Pacific has 22,000 kilometers (14,000 miles) of track in Canada and the United States while Norfolk Southern has 32,000 kilometers of track, largely in the southeastern United States.

But all of the offers were rejected as "grossly inadequate."

Norfolk Southern enlisted support from rivals, shippers including FedEx and United Parcel Service, legislators, the US Department of Justice and even the US Army, which expressed concerns over the deal's impact on national defense.

They warned that service could suffer and costs could rise if the railway industry further consolidated.