SASKATOON (Staff) – Canadian National Railways is no longer owned by the citizens of Canada.
The company was parceled off to investors last week in a $2.2 billion initial offering. Many financial analysts were amazed at response as investors leaped to get their hands on CN Rail shares.
“I think the overall reaction was a little bit of surprise,” said Saskatoon investment advisor Daryl Cooper, of underwriter Nesbitt Burns.
The former government-owned company was cut into chunks by the underwriters. Nesbitt Burns then sold the shares to investors who had placed buy orders.
The $2.2 billion raised makes CN Rail the biggest initial public offering in Canadian history. The federal government will get that money after Nov. 28, the legal closing date.
But in its first day of open trading in Toronto and New York, the $27 per share price jumped $4 per share, a tidy profit for those who quickly sold their shares or a satisfying appreciation for those hanging on to theirs.
Cooper said strong interest from American investors may have helped increase the price.
