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It took less than a month for Canadian Pacific Railway to finalize its acquisition of the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad Corp. (DM&E), but it'll take much longer to obtain the Surface Transportation Board's (STB) blessing for the transaction.

Yesterday, CPR announced it completed the acquisition of the 2,500-mile DM&E and its subsidiaries, including the Iowa, Chicago & Eastern Railroad Corp. On Sept. 4, the parties unveiled their merger agreement under which CPR would acquire the DM&E and its holdings for $1.5 billion.

However, the transaction still is subject to STB review, which could take up to a year to complete. To comply with U.S. laws, CPR placed the DM&E's shares in an independent voting trust, preventing the Class I from exercising control over the regional prior to STB approval.

CPR appointed private consultant Richard Hamlin as trustee during the regulatory review period. A retired national director of KPMG L.L.P.'s transportation practice, Hamlin previously chaired the American Institute of CPA's transportation committee, and railroad and trucking task forces, and was a member of various American Trucking Associations executive committees.

The DM&E will become part of CPR's U.S. network if the STB approves the merger.