8th Aug 2007 11:00
8 August 2007 FIRSTGROUP PLC Proposed Acquisition of Laidlaw International, Inc. Extension of End Date for Acquisition
On 9 February 2007 FirstGroup announced the proposed acquisition of Laidlaw International, Inc.
Regulatory review under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act ("HSR Act") is ongoing. On 11 July 2007, FirstGroup announced that it and Laidlaw had agreed with the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice ("Antitrust Division") to provide the Antitrust Division with additional time in which to complete their review of the Acquisition. Specifically, the parties agreed to give the Antitrust Division 30 days notice of their intention to close the Acquisition on a specific date and that they will not provide that notice earlier than 15 August 2007. Therefore, unless the Antitrust Division agrees to allow the parties to complete the Acquisition earlier, the closing cannot take place before 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on 14 September 2007. The parties are continuing their discussions with the Antitrust Division.
As previously indicated in the announcement on 11 July, either FirstGroup or Laidlaw can terminate the acquisition if it has not completed by 8 August 2007, but under the Acquisition Agreement, either party may extend that date for up to three months if, at that date, completion is prevented only by the requirement to obtain the necessary competition clearances. FirstGroup and Laidlaw have therefore today exercised their rights to extend that date to 8 November 2007.
Terms used in this Announcement shall have the same meanings as set out in the Circular dated 26 March 2007.
Contacts:
Rachael Borthwick
Group Corporate Communications Director 020 7291 0508
FirstGroup plc
Malcolm Moir
JPMorgan Cazenove 020 7588 2828
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