Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. agreed to acquire Kansas City Southern in a transaction valued at roughly $25 billion that would create the first freight-rail network linking Mexico, the US and Canada. The combination, which faces a long-lasting regulatory review, is a long-term wager on an interconnected North american economy. The three countries are reopening at different speeds after the coronavirus pandemic disrupted supply chains and upraised global trade. Rail volumes, which plummeted last year, have rebounded though backlogs at California ports have delayed imports from Asia and stalled certain US factories. It marks the third major US railroad that the Canadian company has targeted in its quest to form a transcontinental network. Canadian Pacific deserted the two prior efforts-in 2014 and 2016-amid resistance from the takeover targets themselves as well as opposition from rivals, shippers and US regulators.