'Go away", Go Ahead tells French bidders
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Your support makes all the difference.Bus and train group Go-Ahead today attempted to stop a £326m takeover bid from a French consortium in its tracks.
Bus and train group Go-Ahead today attempted to stop a £326m takeover bid from a French consortium in its tracks.
The Thames Train operator rejected the bid from the C3D consortium, which is made up of industrial group Caisse des Depots-Developpement and private equity firm Rhone Capital.
C3D made the 650p-a-share cash offer following Go-Ahead's rejection last month of a similarly valued approach.
Go-Ahead chairman Sir Frederick Holliday described the latest bid as "unwelcome" and "opportunistic", and pitched at a level which fundamentally failed to recognise the unique nature and strengths of Go-Ahead's business, past performance and its prospects.
A successful bid by the consortium would mean million pound payouts for Go-Ahead bosses, including founder and managing director Martin Ballinger and commercial director Christopher Moyes.
The Newcastle-based company earlier this year reported half-year pre-tax profits of £22 million against £21.4 million at the same stage last year.
Shares in Go-Ahead, which soared 20% on the back of last month's offer, were largely unaffected by today's bid news falling 3{p to 672{p during trading on the London Stock Exchange this morning.
A spokeswoman for the C3D consortium said it had seen the response and had "no further statement to make at this time".
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