FirstGroup US bidder granted deadline extension
FirstGroup’s US bidder I Squared was given until 18 August to make a firm offer for the transport giant.
The company said it allowed the deadline extension as discussions with the US private equity were still ongoing.
This was the second extension in a month provided to I Squared after FirstGroup rejected its £1.9bn offer as it said it significantly undervalued the group’s operations and future prospects.
The Miami-based investment firm had proposed a cash component of 118 pence per FirstGroup share.
The offer also included a contingent right to up to a further 45.6 pence per FirstGroup share based on the outcome of the First Transit earnout and the net proceeds from the sale of the Greyhound bus division.
FirstGroup is the latest transport giant to be sought after by foreign investors.
Australian bus operator Kelsian today gave up on taking over Go-Ahead after an Australian-Spanish consortium made an offer for almost £650m.
“Unfortunately, recent Australian equity markets have been volatile and external events have adversely impacted the Kelsian share price since 14 June 2022 when Kelsian first announced it was considering a possible offer for Go-Ahead,” Kelsian said.
Bus titan Stagecoach was snatched from underneath National Express by German asset manager DWS for £594.9m in March.