21st Nov 2005 07:02
Stagecoach Group PLC21 November 2005 STAGECOACH GROUP PLC 21 NOVEMBER 2005 Disposal of New Zealand operations Further to its announcement of 18 November 2005, Stagecoach Group plc ("theCompany") is pleased to announce that it has now agreed unconditional terms forthe divestment of all of its New Zealand operations ("Stagecoach NZ") toInfratil Limited, a company listed on the New Zealand Exchange that is aspecialist investor in infrastructure and utility assets. The divestment isexpected to complete by 29 November 2005. Stagecoach NZ operates bus services in the Wellington and Auckland areas of NewZealand, and ferry services in the Auckland area. The enterprise value agreed for the disposal is NZ$250.5m, to be settled incash. The cash payable by Infratil will be adjusted to take account of cashretained by Stagecoach NZ. After taking account of this, together withtransaction costs and the impact of the Group's foreign exchange rate hedges,the disposal is expected to result in a reduction in the consolidated net debtof the Company of approximately £95m. The turnover and operating profit reported in the Company's consolidatedaccounts for Stagecoach NZ in the year ended 30 April 2005 were £59.0m and £8.7mrespectively, under both UK GAAP and IFRS. The gross assets of Stagecoach NZ asat 30 April 2005 were approximately NZ$308m. The consolidated net gain ondisposal is expected to be approximately £20m. The proceeds of the disposal will initially be used to reduce net debt, and thedisposal is not expected to materially impact consolidated earnings per share. The management team of Stagecoach NZ led by Ross Martin (Executive Chairman)will remain with Stagecoach NZ under its new owner. Brian Souter, Stagecoach Group plc Chief Executive, commented: "The Group's NewZealand operations have been tremendously successful under our ownership,delivering excellent financial returns. We received an approach about thepossible sale of the business and, after assessing Infratil's offer and theprospects for the New Zealand operations, we concluded that the disposal was inthe best interests of our shareholders. We remain focused on our strategy ofmaximising shareholder value from the Group's portfolio of bus and railbusinesses through organic growth and we are continuing to explore the potentialfor complementary acquisitions in the UK and North American bus markets." - ENDS - CONTACTS: Telephone Stagecoach Group plcMartin Griffiths, Finance Director 01738 442 111Steven Stewart, Head of Media & Public Affairs 01738 442 111 SmithfieldJohn Kiely 020 7360 4900 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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