Mobico agrees to Spanish takeover offer backed by largest shareholder

Mobico Group PLC on Friday said it has agreed to a cash takeover offer from a Spanish company partly owned by its largest shareholder.

Autobuses de Leon SL is offering 46 pence per share in cash, valuing the Birmingham, England-based public transport operator's equity at £308 million and giving an implied enterprise value, including debt, of £2.32 billion.

The 46p firm offer is the same as the bidder's initial proposal, unveiled on October 21. Mobico shares were up 12% to 44p in London on Friday morning. They are up 48% since October 20.

Autobuses de Leon is jointly owned by CMC Group and a fund managed by Madrid-based Asterion Industrial Partners. CMC Group is Mobico's largest shareholder with a 26% stake and has been an investor since selling Automoviles Luarca SA, or Alsa, to Mobico in 2005. Asterion manages EUR8.3 billion in assets and has experience investing in mobility businesses.

Mobico said the offer has the support of both CMC and all board directors, for 26.4% total committed support so far.

Mobico, formerly known as National Express, has 30,000 employees operating 13,400 vehicles in 11 countries. It claims to be the leading long-haul coach operator in both the UK and Spain. Mobico also operates urban transport in those two countries, plus the US, Ireland, Morocco, Portugal, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. In Germany, Mobico has rail operations.

For its part, AdL operates bus concessions in Malta and Cyprus.

"AdL believes that the development of Mobico will be best served under private ownership, with access to capital and the benefit of a long-term investment approach," it said.

Separately, Mobico said it is changing its financial year end back to December 31 from March 31. Mobico had extended its financial year to March 31 from December 31 following the appointment of new auditors but now will revert back to calendar-year reporting.

Mobico will report results for the six months that ended September 30 by December 31, followed by 9-month results to December 31 by April 30 next year, it said.

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