Following a report in the Sunday Times which suggested that the Go-Ahead Group might be up for sale a year after it was bought by Australian transport group Kinetic and Spanish group Globalvia in a £650m deal, the firm has denied the rumours. The take-over deal was backed by a number of international pension funds, including Canadian pension fund OPTrust.
The Sunday Times reported that OPTrust had brought in advisers and was looking to offload public transport interests including Go-Ahead and had hired investment bankers at RBC and Macquarie to explore a potential sale.
However, according to CityAM, Go-Ahead Group’s Chief Executive denied the reports, and called them ‘misleading’ in giving the impression that the company was for sale, issuing a statement which said: “Go-Ahead is not for sale. It remains an important and strategic business for its owners Kinetic and Globalvia which, as committed long-term shareholders, support its growth strategy.
“As previously reported, OPTrust is undertaking a strategic review into its respective holdings in Kinetic and Globalvia, that may or may not result in the divestment of its stake in either business. This process has no impact on Go-Ahead’s strategy or day-to-day activities, which continue to focus on moving and connecting people to their communities across its bus and rail network.”
