Takeover of US Greyhound imminent

Ally · 02-13-2007, 05:22 AM

It was reported that Aberdeen-based bus and rail operator First Group is soon to announce an agreed takeover of Laidlaw International, which owns U.S Greyhound.

The final price was not immediately clear however, a deal is understood to value Laidlaw shares at between $US35 and $US37, making the company worth between $2.8 billion and $US2.9 billion.

Both First Group and Laidlaw have remained tight-lipped on the pending takeover.

If the takeover is successful, First Group will also take on about $US440 million of debt. The deal will transform the company, whose main business is running trains and buses in Britain, into the largest single operator of school buses in the US. The transaction will reportedly give First about half the total market in school buses.

However, the proposed takeover has already caused controversy, with The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which represents many of the school bus drivers opposing the deal.

Laidlaw achieved a net income of $US1.25 million on revenue of $US3.13 billion in the year to August 31 last year. Greyhound services reportedly accounted for just $US1.24 billion of that revenue.

**Captain Larry** · 10-26-2007, 02:25 PM

I probably haven't been paying attention, but I don't know if this transaction has been completed. Can anyone tell me?

One point of interest here is that a rather high percentage of elementary and secondary school students in the USA and Canada are transported to class in buses and by drivers leased from Laidlaw. That is true of both public and private school systems.