National Express to take over Stagecoach

BIRMINGHAM coach operator National Express is to buy out rival transport group Stagecoach in an all-share takeover.

The deal will bring together two of the UK’s biggest transport firms after talks were first revealed back in September, creating a combined firm worth around £1.9 billion and with a fleet of 40,000 vehicles and 70,000 staff.

Under the terms of the tie-up, National Express shareholders would own 75 per cent of the combined group and Perth-based Stagecoach the remainder.

The firms revealed that around 50 roles are expected to be cut under plans to slash annual costs by at least £45 million following the deal. The jobs are set to go at the two head offices and in the IT and corporate departments of the two firms.

Some overlapping senior management positions are also expected to be axed but the two companies stressed there would be no front-line job losses, such as among drivers, or depot closures as a result of the deal.

In a bid to ease any potential regulatory competition concerns, Stagecoach also announced deals to offload the marketing, retail and customer service operations of Megabus UK and the Falcon South-West coach service as well as its 35 per cent stake in the Scottish Citylink Coaches joint venture.

Stagecoach chairman Ray O’Toole will become the chairman of the group while National Express chief executive Ignacio Garat will keep the same role.

Mr Garat 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.”

In addition to its domestic services, National Express has bus and coach networks across Spain while it also runs school bus services in America and a rail franchise in Germany.

Stagecoach is Britain’s biggest bus and coach operator.