Out But Not Down.

Wisconsin Central takeover attempt fails but Burkhardt says shareholders still on his side

Wisconsin Central management declared victory last week after it was revealed that former president Ed Burkhardt came up short in his bid to oust and replace the current board of directors. But Burkhardt says the real issue is whether management will stick to a plan for increasing the value of the company's stock -- a plan that both sides have claimed as their own.

"We are gratified by our stockholders' endorsement of the board and its program to maximize stockholder value," said Wisconsin Central President and CEO Tom Power. "We are continuing to make good progress with our exploration of strategic alternatives and, with this expensive and time-consuming distraction behind us, we can move forward even more aggressively. We thank our stockholders for their strong showing of support and pledge to continue our efforts to maximize stockholder value."

"From our point of view, this is a very good day," added Wisconsin Central spokeswoman Ann Thoma. "He is conceding that he has lost the substantive issue of the proxy contest and we accept his concession."

The substantive issue, whether to kick out the current board of directors, was one of two main issues shareholders voted on in the proxy initiated by Burkhardt …