Adam Bernstein considers matters around mergers and acquisitions
It’s not hard to find examples of mergers within the bus and coach sector. Back in 2021, accountants Moore UK commented that “most merger and acquisition (M&A) activity within the passenger transport sector in recent years has been focused on bus and coach companies.”
In particular, it said that between January 2012 and May 2017, there were 53 M&A deals in the bus and coach subsector: 34 involving bus companies, 15 involving coach companies and four among combined bus and coach businesses. More recently, in December 2021,
the BBC reported that Stagecoach and National Express had announced a merger through an all-share takeover by National Express. The move was to have created a combined firm worth about £1.9bn, with a fleet of about 40,000 vehicles worldwide and a workforce
of about 70,000; National Express shareholders were to own about 75% of the combined group and Stagecoach 25%. However, the merger was ditched three months later in favour of a £595m takeover by DWS Infrastructure.
Are you enjoying this feature? Why not subscribe to continue reading?
Subscribe for 6 issues/weeks from only £6Or login if you are already a subscriber
By subscribing you will benefit from:
• Operator & Supplier Profiles
• Face-to-Face Interviews
• Lastest News
• Test Drives and Reviews
• Legal Updates
• Route Focus
• Industry Insider Opinions
• Passenger Perspective
• Vehicle Launches
• and much more!
