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Go-Ahead Group PLC late Monday announced its agreement to a takeover offer from Gerrard Investment Bidco Ltd, a subsidiary of a consortium consisting of Kinetic Holding Co Pty Ltd and Globalvia Inversiones SAU.
Kinetic is a bus operator in Australia and New Zealand, while Globalvia is a Madrid-based transport infrastructure firm.
Shares in the Newcastle, England-based public transport operator closed 19% higher at 1,441.72 pence on Monday in London, giving a market capitalisation of £622.5 million.
Earlier Monday, Go-Ahead confirmed the receipt of two takeover proposals, one from the Kinetic consortium, and another than Sydney-listed transport operator Kelsian Group Ltd.
Under the agreement, the consortium will acquire Go-Ahead for 1,500 pence per share, comprising 1,450p in cash, and a special dividend of 50 pence, in lieu of a final dividend for the financial year ending July 2.
The offer values Go-Ahead at £647.7 million
The full price reflects a 24% premium to Go-Ahead's closing price of 1,210p on Friday last week.
The acquisition is conditional on gaining at least 75% in shareholder approval at both the court and general meeting, as well as being sanctioned by the High Court of Justice in England & Wales.
The deal has a long-stop date of January 14, 2023. So far, the consortium has gained irrevocable undertakings from 2,584 shares in Go-Ahead, reflecting a nominal part of the company's equity.
‘This is a compelling offer which combines an attractive valuation for shareholders with bright prospects for Go-Ahead's operations and colleagues around the world. We have confidence in Go-Ahead's future as an independent business, but see that being part of a truly global mass transit platform will yield exciting opportunities. We welcome the commitment of Kinetic and Globalvia to invest in the decarbonisation and digitalisation of our operations, and to support our strategy, The Next Billion Journeys,’ said Chief Executive Christian Schreyer.
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