Union Pacific May Hike Bid for Santa Fe : Railroads: The company wants a look at Santa Fe’s books. One analyst calls the move ‘gamesmanship.’

CHICAGO — Union Pacific Corp. said Tuesday that it might boost its $3.25-billion bid for Santa Fe Pacific Corp. if it is allowed a look at Santa Fe’s books.

The request came in a letter from Union Pacific Chairman Drew Lewis to Santa Fe Chairman Robert D. Krebs and Santa Fe’s directors.

In response, Krebs issued a statement late Tuesday saying Lewis’ letter had been reviewed by the Santa Fe board, “adds nothing” to previous correspondence and, barring new information, Santa Fe’s “position still stands.”

Last week, Santa Fe rejected Union Pacific’s bid and said it would stick with a $2.5-billion bid from Burlington Northern Inc. it accepted in late June.

Union Pacific, the nation’s largest railroad in terms of revenue, offered no new answers to Santa Fe’s objections that the Interstate Commerce Commission probably would block a merger of the two companies on antitrust grounds. They compete on routes between the Midwest and California.

In his response late Tuesday, Krebs asked Lewis to “provide us promptly with Union Pacific’s ‘analysis of ICC matters,’ as referenced in your letter.”

Nevertheless, Union Pacific’s move may signal an escalation in the bidding war for Santa Fe, the nation’s seventh-largest railroad company, based in the Chicago suburb of Schaumburg.

Scott Flower, a rail industry analyst with Kidder, Peabody Inc. in New York, dismissed Union Pacific’s letter as “gamesmanship.”

“It’s just posturing before anything serious happens,” he said.

Some analysts believe Union Pacific, based in Bethlehem, Pa., joined the bidding to block or slow the Santa Fe-Burlington merger. But Union Pacific insists it is serious about buying Santa Fe.

Santa Fe’s stock closed up 12.50 cents at $14.625 a share on the New York Stock Exchange. Burlington’s bid values Santa Fe at $13.20 a share; Union Pacific’s stock-swap proposal values the company at more than $17.