National Express and Stagecoach agree merger
National Express and Stagecoach have reached an agreement on a £470m combination deal.
The combined group will now bring services together and have a fleet of around 40,000 and a workforce of 70,000 people, with more than a billion passenger journeys made annually.
Stagecoach shareholders will own approximately 25%, whilst National Express shareholders will own the remaining 75%, on an all-share basis.
Under the terms of the combination, holders of Stagecoach shares will be entitled to receive 0.36 new National Express shares in exchange for each Stagecoach share.
Ignacio Garat, Chief Executive Officer of National Express said: “The proposed combination of National Express and Stagecoach, and the unique strengths of both companies and their teams, will create a leading multi-modal passenger transport business in the UK, aiming to deliver superb services to customers and forging the way to a carbon-free future with a new generation of zero-emission buses and coaches.
“The combined group will also benefit from the significant growth and cost synergies and a stronger balance sheet to significantly accelerate growth investment across our diversified international portfolio, aiming to deliver attractive sustainable returns to shareholders.”
The combination says it plans to facilitate the expansion of the business across the UK and implement industry-leading sustainable solutions. Bringing the best of both companies to deliver significant benefits of travel to customers.
The National Express board expects that as a result of the combination, it will save £45m with a one-off £40m expense. These savings it says would be achieved through sharing depots, optimising routes and combining back offices.
It has been reported that around 50 roles are expected to be cut across head offices, IT and corporate departments of the two firms, as well as some overlapping senior management positions.
It comes 12 years after National Express rejected a £1.7bn merger offer from Stagecoach.
Martin Griffiths, Chief Executive of Stagecoach said: “Our companies have a shared vision around helping to build more sustainable communities and secure a net-zero future. We also both have a strong track record of investing in our people and in our services to deliver sector-leading customer service, operational excellence and great value travel.
“This is an exciting opportunity to bring together two of the UK’s iconic transport brands to create a strong, diverse business that is well-placed to grow the market for greener and smarter public transport for the benefit of all stakeholders.”
