National Express says Stagecoach offer creates 'superior value creation opportunity'
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Coach operator National Express said on Thursday that its proposed £1.9bn all-share combination with Stagecoach represented "a superior value creation opportunity" when compared to an offer from German infrastructure fund DWS.
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National Express stated that DWS' 105.0p per share offer "materially undervalues" Stagecoach, which withdrew its backing for the merger with National Express. The National Express deal values Stagecoach at £445.0m, while the DWS deal places the group's value at £595.0m.
However, National Express said a recent share price recovery to pre-pandemic levels of 421.0p implied "an illustrative look-through value" per Stagecoach share of around 170.0p, which represented a 66% premium to the DWS offer.
The FTSE 250-listed firm also highlighted that the combination of the two companies would create a leading multi-modal transportation provider in the UK and deliver significant synergies.
"In a period that has seen a surge of private equity firms acquiring British companies, the combination represents a rare example of two UK listed companies combining to form a global leader in their industry," said National Express.
As of 0810 GMT, National Express shares were up 0.95% at 234.40p.