Union Pacific Acquires Norfolk Southern, P&G Rises, Novo Nordisk Slumps

On this episode of Stock Movers:
- Union Pacific (UNP) agreed to acquire Norfolk Southern (NSC) in a cash-and-stock transaction valued at $85 billion, forming a transcontinental rail behemoth in what stands to be the industry’s largest deal ever.Norfolk Southern shareholders will receive one Union Pacific share and $88.82 in cash for each Norfolk share, the companies said in a statement Tuesday. Union Pacific will issue about 225 million shares to Norfolk Southern investors, representing 27% ownership in the combined company.
- Procter & Gamble (PG) shares are up 1.3% in premarket trading, after the consumer goods conglomerate reported fourth-quarter results that were slightly ahead of expectations. It also gave an outlook. Late on Monday, it announced that Chief Operating Officer Shailesh Jejurikar would become chief executive officer on Jan. 1.
- Novo Nordisk (NOVOB DC) shares slump as much as 30%, wiping more than $90b off the Danish drugmaker’s market value, after the company cut its sales and profit forecasts, citing slumping sales of weight-loss drugs. Novo named a company insider as its new CEO.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news. The Stock Movers Report,
your roundup of companies making moves in the stock market.
Harnessing the power of Bloomberg Data.

Speaker 2 (00:17):
Let's take a look at some stocks on the move today.
I'm time Keen with Paul Sweeni and Bloomberg's John Tucker.

Speaker 3 (00:23):
Let's go back in time history. The Golden Spike was
driven at Promontory Summit, Utah, May tenth, eighteen sixty nine,
completing the first transcontinental railroad in the US, marking the
joining of Central Pacific and Union Pacific. Now we're going
to do it again. The Taia the latest poised to
transform North American railmark bearing Union pacifics network across the

(00:48):
western US. With Norfolk's East coast routes, Union Pacific agreeing
to acquire Norfolk Southern. This is a cash and stock
transaction valued at eighty five billion dollars, forming a rail giant.
Stands to be the industry's largest deal ever. It also
would be the biggest merger M and A this year.

(01:09):
Norfolk Southern shareholders receiving one Union Pacific share and eighty
eight dollars eighty two cents in cash for each Norfolk
Share Union Pacific's going to issue two hundred and twenty
five million shares to Norfolk Southern investors. That represents about
twenty seven percent ownership in the combined company. They aim
to close this deal, I mean, if regulators sign off

(01:32):
on it sometime in early twenty twenty seven. We'll see
if that actually.

Speaker 2 (01:38):
This is from AI, folks, and we're using this more
and more. John to your great history there the Big
seven Class one railroads, sixty eight percent of freight, eighty
eight percent of employees, and ninety four percent of revenue.

Speaker 1 (01:55):
Good luck in Washington, yep, good luck.

Speaker 3 (01:58):
Let's transform that. Going on to Procter and Gamble, they
issued a wider range than usual for the annual sales outlook.
So this kind of underscores the volatility of companies continuing
to try to navigate even as the Trumpet administration begins
to strength some of the trade deals. The maker of
time detergent A Guleette Raisers expecting organic sales growth this

(02:22):
year to range between flat to up to four percent
versus the prior year. According to the company, this projection
actually includes raising some prices. The top end of that
range would be a faster pace of growth than the
most recent fiscal year. I remember Aj Laughley was in
here once years ago and he just loved the fact

(02:43):
that people when they squeezed their tooth, they didn't get
it all out. That yeah, there was some waste involved
and they have to go back to the store.

Speaker 2 (02:51):
I was Arguably in twenty years Lafley wrote the most
usable business book I've ever seen, just brilliant.

Speaker 3 (02:57):
Next, this stock got crushed novel Nordist named its head
of international operations as the CEO after slumping weight loss
drug sales. This led to a profit warning that wiped
out ninety three billion dollars off its market cap. So
this new appointment comes shortly after Novo slashed its financial forecast,

(03:18):
predicting this year's sales will grow just eight to fourteen percent.
The new CEO is Iranian, born with Austrian citizenship. He
grew up in the US and was start in his
new role August seventh. The past CEOs at Novo of
alban Danish and we're intertwined with the company prior to
taking over, two were actually sun and laws of previous

(03:41):
company leaders. So this is a bit of a welcome departure.
For the company.

Speaker 1 (03:47):
The Stock Movers Report from Bloomberg Radio. Check back with
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