Private capital has a keen eye on British bus companies. Low valuations, hopes that travellers will ditch cars, and government incentives to invest in environmentally-friendly vehicles are enticing buyers, analysts and investors said. Three out of four major London-listed bus operators have attracted takeover interest in recent months.
“Whatever the 2020s are called will be the golden age of electric buses,” said Hamish Mackenzie, head of infrastructure at DWS Group (DWSG.DE), which agreed to buy StageCoach (SGC.L) earlier this year. read more
Britain will invest 3 billion pounds ($3.6 billion) in policies that aim to get more people travelling by bus and to provide incentives for operators to convert diesel buses to electric or hydrogen-powered vehicles, it said last year. That political support is helping drive takeover interest, executives say.
StageCoach, the country’s largest bus and coach operator, was the first to agree a deal. A European infrastructure fund managed by DWS outbid rival National Express (NEX.L) in March.