Activist Toms Capital seeks meeting with CSX after acquiring stake - Reuters

[A railroad employee holding a walkie-talkie leans out from a CSX railroad locomotive,]

Activist investor Toms Capital is seeking a meeting with the board of railroad operator CSX Corp. (NASDAQ:CSX [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/CSX]) after recently acquiring a stake.

It's not clear what Toms Capital wants, though the company has previously advocated for deals at US Steel and Kellanova (K [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/K]), according to a Reuters report [https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/sustainable-finance-reporting/toms-capital-seeks-csx-meeting-after-acquiring-stake-sources-say-2025-08-19/]on Tuesday, which cited people familiar with the matter.

Tom Capitals purchased 5.6 million shares of CSX (NASDAQ:CSX [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/CSX]) in Q2, according to a recent 13F filing. The stake comes amid speculation the railroar operator may pursue a deal with rival BNSF, which is owned by Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/BRK.B]).

There appears to be a push for CSX to do a deal after Union Pacific (UNP [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/UNP]) late last month announced a $72 billion acquisition of Norfolk Southern [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4473444-largest-rail-union-will-oppose-union-pacifics-deal-for-norfolk-southern#hasComeFromMpArticle=false#source=section%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews](NSC [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/NSC]), creating America's first transcontinental railroad. There were also reports out last month that CSX hired Goldman Sachs to explore options [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4475902-csx-gains-on-report-its-working-with-goldman-to-explore-options] in the wake of the Union Pacific transaction.

Toms Capital declined to comment to Reuters. CSX didn't immediately return a request for comment.

Activist investor Ancora Holdings also has a small position in CSX (CSX [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/CSX]) and has been considering larger purchases, according to the Reuters report.

CSX CEO Joe Hinrichs has said he's open to merger talks with other railroad operators after reports that Union Pacific (UNP [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/UNP]) was exploring a potential deal [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4468700-union-pacific-exploring-deal-to-buy-norfolk-southern-wsj#hasComeFromMpArticle=false#source=section%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews] for Norfolk Southern (NSC [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/NSC]).

Shares of CSX rose 1.7% on Tuesday.

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