The group, a leading bus service provider in London and across the country and managing the UK’s largest rail network, Govia Thameslink Railway, said it had received potential unsolicited bids from the Kelsian Group and a consortium of Kinetic and Globalvia Inversiones. Go-Ahead said both conditional proposals were “at a level which, if a firm offer was made, the board would be willing to propose to shareholders”. Shares of Go-Ahead jumped 20% on Monday morning with the announcement, raising its value to the highest level since the start of the pandemic in 2020. Kelsian is an Australian transport provider listed in Sydney, where Go-Ahead had previous contracts to modernize its rail system. Melbourne-based Kinetic, which operates buses, and Globalvia Inversiones, an offering partner, are both heavily owned by the Canadian pension fund OP Trusts. Go-Ahead also has rail and bus services contracts in Ireland, Singapore, Norway and Germany. The news comes after a turbulent year for Go-Ahead, in which it became embroiled in an accounting scandal after discovering that it had illegally withheld more than 50 50 million from the government during its Southeastern Railway franchise. It was removed from the deal and trading in Go-Ahead shares on the London Stock Exchange was suspended in January after failing to submit bills pending a new audit. However, he has since won another three-year contract to run Thameslink, Gatwick Express, Southern and Great North. Rivalry UK carriers have also been targeted for takeovers, with FirstGroup last week rejecting an offer from I Squared Capital and Stagecoach accepting an offer from DWS Infrastructure in March after earlier looking to merge with National Express. . Subscribe to the daily Business Today email or follow the Guardian Business on Twitter at @BusinessDesk The value of transport companies sank when the coronavirus hit in March 2020 and the government advised the public to avoid all unnecessary travel. The share price of Go-Ahead fell by about 70% in a month at the beginning of the pandemic, as the rail franchise system in the United Kingdom was abolished. The number of passengers since then has only recovered to about 80% of the 2019 levels on buses and trains. However, stable, albeit lower, profit margins are guaranteed by the new UK rail contracts, which is leading to a renewed investor interest. Businesses that operate have said they will find cost savings, but their revenue will not be affected by what is likely to be a summer of strikes. Extensive industrial action is expected to begin next week.
