LONDON - Rail and bus operator National Express Group announced on Tuesday it was buying Spanish transport company Alsa for £461 million. The British company is paying £262 million in shares and cash and is also taking on a £199 million debt. This deal turns the Birmingham-based National Express into Europe’s biggest coach operator.
This deal could make the Cosmen family, the owners of Alsa, the biggest shareholders in National Express with a 10 percent stake that could increase to 15 percent. Currently, Barclays Global Investors with a 14 percent stake is the biggest shareholder in National Express. Alsa's president Jorge Cosmen will take up the position of a non-executive director at National Express.
National Express chief executive Phil White said that the deal was a long time coming and that he had been waiting six years for it to materialize, "It's a very special relationship between the family and a listed company. We knew the quality right from the start," he said. He added that Alsa, which has 1,400 vehicles at its disposal, would be run by local management as a division within the National Express. "This is a fantastic growth opportunity. Alsa operates concessions running from between eight and 20 years with an average life of nine years, so this is like us buying a firm with a nine-year order book," he added.
Alsa, which began as a donkey and cart firm, has been growing at 6 percent over the last three years. The group made a profit of £30 million on a turnover of £219 million before interest and taxation last year. Alsa also has businesses in Portugal, Switzerland, Morocco, Chile and China. Analysts who said that the ongoing liberalization in Europe offered great potential for growth cautiously welcomed the deal.
Posted
on : Wed, 12 Oct 2005 13:15 GMT | Business News
By : Paula Jenkins
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