National Express and Stagecoach have reached an agreement on
the terms of a proposed merger that would create one of the largest multi-modal
transportation providers in the UK.
According to National Express, the combined entity would be
worth around £1.9 billion and encompass a domestic and international portfolio
of bus, coach and rail services with a fleet of around 40,000 vehicles and a
workforce of approximately 70,000 people.
Under the terms of the deal, first announced in September, Stagecoach shareholders would
own around 25 per cent of the combined company, while National Express would
own the remaining 75 per cent.
The companies said a merger would allow them to further
build scale within the UK market, supported by the government’s £3 billion
national bus strategy for England and similar measures in Scotland and Wales.
It would also give National Express a platform to accelerate
its growth plans within the commuter, shuttle, private hire coach and
accessible transport spaces, as well as capacity to undertake a £1.5 billion
pipeline of opportunities, particularly in the firm’s North American businesses
and Spanish subsidiary ALSA.
Furthermore, the combined company would be able to implement
environmental and sustainability solutions at scale, allowing it to deliver
zero-emission public transport in line with the government’s climate change
commitments.
Following the merger, which could be completed by the end of
2022 subject to shareholder and regulatory approval, Stagecoach chairman Ray O’Toole
will become chair of the combined group, with Sir John Armitt CBE stepping down
as chairman of National Express.
National Express deputy chair Jorge Cosmen will become deputy
chair of the group, and Ignacio Garat and Chris Davies, CEO and CFO
respectively of National Express, will become CEO and CFO of the combined
company.
Tom Stables, CEO of National Express UK and Germany, will
take on the same role for the combined group, while Carla Stockton-Jones, UK MD
of Stagecoach, will become the MD of UK bus for the group.
National Express said the firms had identified “significant”
cost synergies of around £45 million within three years after one-off costs of
around £40 million following the merger.
However, workers’ union Unite has expressed concern over the
impact of the merger on jobs within the two companies. General secretary Sharon
Graham said: “This takeover must not be paid for by attacks to workers’ terms
and conditions.
“We expect the newly expanded National Express company to
work with us to respect existing agreements and must warn that failure to do
this or any attempt to make our members worse off will be forcefully resisted.”