Battle for Conrail Moves Into Court

The fight for Conrail Inc. went to court in Philadelphia with hostile bidder Norfolk Southern Corp. arguing that stockholders will lose if Conrail accepts a buyout plan from CSX Corp. Norfolk Southern has asked a federal judge to block the merger. Conrail has asked the judge to throw out the lawsuit. U.S. District Judge Donald VanArtsdalen gave the three companies two days to argue their cases on two main points: Does the existing merger deal between Conrail and CSX violate federal law? Does Norfolk Southern have any grounds to challenge the buyout and present a counteroffer? Norfolk Southern made its own bid for Conrail a week after its merger with CSX was announced.