Check out our new Timeline feature to give you the latest updates on all the stocks you follow. Clickhere to set up your Timeline.

Less Ads, More Data, More Tools Register for FREE
Sponsored Content
Don't want ads? Click here
Sponsored Content
Don't want ads? Click here

Pin to quick picksNEX.L Share News (NEX)

  • There is currently no data for NEX

Watchlists are a member only feature

Login to your account

Timelines are a member only feature

Login to your account

Alerts are a premium feature

Login to your account

UPDATE 2-National Express in talks for all-share takeover of Stagecoach

Tue, 21st Sep 2021 07:33

* Stagecoach shareholders would own 25% in merged group

* Potential deal would value Stagecoach at 445 mln stg

* Stagecoach shares jump 20%, National Express up 7%

* Companies say no certainty a formal offer will be made
(Adds background, analyst comment, share price)

By Sarah Young

LONDON, Sept 21 (Reuters) - British transport company
National Express is in talks to acquire rival operator
Stagecoach Group in an all-share deal, offering scope
for cost savings and underpinning their recovery from COVID-19.

The tie-up, which would value Stagecoach at about 445
million pounds ($609 million), comes as government support to
help the companies get through the pandemic is due to expire.

National Express has bus and coach operations in Spain and
Britain, runs school buses in the United States, and has a
German rail contract.

Stagecoach, solely focused on Britain, is the country's
biggest bus and coach operator. The company was founded by Brian
Souter and his sister Ann Gloag in Perth in 1980, starting out
with just two buses bought with their father’s redundancy money.

They still own stakes in the company - Souter has about
14.55% and Gloag around 10.47%, based on Refinitiv data.

Under the terms of the potential takeover, Stagecoach
shareholders would receive 0.36 new National Express shares for
each Stagecoach share, giving them a 25% stake in the merged
group.

That represents an 18% premium on the closing price of
Stagecoach's shares on Monday.

Stagecoach's stock jumped 20% to 81 pence in early trading
on Tuesday. National Express rose 7% to 239 pence per share,
giving it a market value of 1.48 billion pounds.

During the pandemic, both Stagecoach and National Express
received government support to keep services running when
passenger numbers were down, but that funding will end in the
coming months.

Transport usage is starting to recover as workers return to
offices, but is still not near its pre-pandemic levels.

The companies said the tie-up would make pre-tax cost
savings of 35 million pounds per year through efficiencies such
as National Express utilising Stagecoach's depots for its coach
operations.

Stagecoach runs the megabus service, which like National
Express, operates coach services between British cities.

Citi analysts said the deal would be positive for the
transport sector. Rival UK operators FirstGroup and
Go-Ahead also rose around 3% on news of the potential
deal.

"We have argued for consolidation in the UK Public Transport
given the structural challenges facing the industry, i.e. the
pandemic impact on passenger volume and capex headwinds related
to the adoption of environmentally-friendly vehicles," Citi said
in a note.

The companies said that discussions and due diligence
remained ongoing and there could be no certainty of a formal
offer.

Should a deal go ahead, Stagecoach's chairman Ray O'Toole, a
former chief operating officer at National Express, would become
chair of the combined group, while National Express chief
executive Ignacio Garat would continue as CEO of the merged
entity.
($1 = 0.7310 pounds)
(Reporting by Sarah Young; Editing by Kate Holton, Michael
Holden and Jane Merriman)

More News
4 Feb 2022 12:02

LONDON MARKET MIDDAY: Oil lifts FTSE but CAC, DAX fall before US jobs

LONDON MARKET MIDDAY: Oil lifts FTSE but CAC, DAX fall before US jobs

Read more
26 Jan 2022 12:16

LONDON MARKET MIDDAY: Markets brace for aggressive US Fed tightening

LONDON MARKET MIDDAY: Markets brace for aggressive US Fed tightening

Read more
26 Jan 2022 10:52

Stagecoach merger with National Express reviewed by UK regulator

Stagecoach merger with National Express reviewed by UK regulator

Read more
26 Jan 2022 10:30

Regulator to probe National Express-Stagecoach merger

(Sharecast News) - The competition watchdog is to investigate the proposed £1.9bn merger of National Express and Stagecoach, it was confirmed on Wednesday.

Read more
26 Jan 2022 09:12

LONDON MARKET OPEN: Fresnillo drops on 2022 production warning

LONDON MARKET OPEN: Fresnillo drops on 2022 production warning

Read more
26 Jan 2022 07:56

LONDON MARKET PRE-OPEN: Fresnillo silver production misses forecast

LONDON MARKET PRE-OPEN: Fresnillo silver production misses forecast

Read more
6 Jan 2022 13:46

Berenberg upgrades Restaurant Group, downgrades Wetherspoons

(Sharecast News) - Berenberg reviewed its ratings on a number of leisure stocks on Thursday from pubs to restaurants and travel firms.

Read more
20 Dec 2021 17:09

LONDON MARKET CLOSE: Stocks dive on lockdown fears and Biden bill blow

LONDON MARKET CLOSE: Stocks dive on lockdown fears and Biden bill blow

Read more
14 Dec 2021 17:05

LONDON MARKET CLOSE: Stocks fall as concerns over Omicron spread mount

LONDON MARKET CLOSE: Stocks fall as concerns over Omicron spread mount

Read more
14 Dec 2021 12:21

LONDON MARKET MIDDAY: Ocado lifts FTSE but CAC and DAX tread water

LONDON MARKET MIDDAY: Ocado lifts FTSE but CAC and DAX tread water

Read more
14 Dec 2021 12:03

National Express buys Stagecoach for £468m

(Sharecast News) - National Express has agreed to buy Stagecoach in a deal the combines two of Britain's biggest public transport operators in the wake of the pandemic.

Read more
14 Dec 2021 10:43

TOP NEWS: National Express and Stagecoach agree GBP2 billion merger

TOP NEWS: National Express and Stagecoach agree GBP2 billion merger

Read more
14 Dec 2021 10:11

UPDATE 2-FTSE 100 slips as Rentokil weakness, Omicron worries outweigh mining gains

(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock markets, click LIVE/ or type LIVE/ in a news window)* Rentokil top FTSE 100 loser* BT Group falls as Drahi raises stake* National Express to acquire Stagecoach* FTSE 100 down 0.2% , FTSE 250 dr...

Read more
14 Dec 2021 09:43

Stagecoach sells intercity services as merger deadline looms

(Sharecast News) - Stagecoach has agreed to sell Megabus and two other intercity coach services for £8.75m to head off potential competition barriers to its proposed merger with National Express.

Read more
8 Dec 2021 15:05

Stagecoach says UK travel demand picks up amid National Express talks

Stagecoach says UK travel demand picks up amid National Express talks

Read more

Free Investment Tools

Register for FREE

Login to your account

Don't have an account? Click here to register.

Quickpicks are a member only feature

Login to your account

Don't have an account? Click here to register.