National Express completes £126m US acquisition
BIRMINGHAM-based transport group National Express has completed the £126m acquisition of America’s fifth largest provider of student transport services.
National Express first announced it was set to acquire Petermann Partners from Macquarie Global Opportunities Partners and Petermann’s management last September.
The transport group said in a trading update yesterday that strategic acquisitions in its overseas businesses in the US and Spain were helping to generate new business and the takeover of Petermann Partners reinforces this.
National Express said at the time of acquisition, the bolt-on was expected to be earnings accretive from the outset and strengthen the group’s position in a key US market.
Petermann is the market leader in its home state, Ohio, and has operations across 10 states in the Midwest, West and Southwest. The acquisition adds more than 3,300 vehicles and increases the size of the US fleet by 20%.
The deal was funded through a combination of cash and existing credit facilities.
For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2011, Petermann generated revenue of £94.4m ($149.9m) with normalised EBITDA of £18.4m ($29.3m), normalised operating profit of £8.5m ($13.5m) and had gross assets at June 30, 2011 of £160m ($254.5m).
National Express said the acquisition of Petermann represented a targeted expansion by the group in the structurally attractive US student transportation market. Since being founded in 1999, Petermann has developed a strong track record of growth, driven by new contract wins and bolt-on acquisitions.
Dean Finch, Group Chief Executive of National Express, said his group’s improved performance had led it to take advantage of new opportunities.
He said the Petermann business was a good strategic fit for the group’s existing school bus business, complementing current operations and introducing new territories.
