Go-Ahead shares jump after £650m takeover bid agreed

Go-Ahead shares jumped after the transport company agreed to a £650 million takeover by a consortium including an Australian bus operator.

The UK-listed company, which runs London’s red buses on behalf of Transport for London, saw shares rise by 13.4% to 1,540p on Tuesday morning.

It came after Go-Ahead revealed on Monday evening that it would recommend its shareholders accept the offer of £15 per share including a special dividend.

The offer came from a consortium including Australian firm Kinetic Holdings and Spanish infrastructure investor Globalvia, which are both backed by a Canadian pension fund.

The deal is expected to complete by around October 2022, subject to conditions.

Christian Schreyer, group chief executive of Go-Ahead, said: “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.”

However, there is still the prospect of a bidding war, after Go-Ahead had confirmed takeover interest from rival Australian transport firm Kelsian.

On Tuesday morning, Kelsian confirmed that it has been in talks with the UK business over a potential cash takeover.

“Kelsian believes that the potential combination with Go-Ahead would create an international leader in multi-modal, mass transit supporting a sustainability agenda for its passengers and governments, with strong growth prospects,” it said in a statement.