Selling New Zealand

Disposal of New Zealand operations

21/11/2005
Further to its announcement of 18 November 2005, Stagecoach Group plc (“the Company”) is pleased to announce that it has now agreed unconditional terms for the divestment of all of its New Zealand operations (“Stagecoach NZ”) to Infratil Limited, a company listed on the New Zealand Exchange that is a specialist investor in infrastructure and utility assets. The divestment is expected to complete by 29 November 2005.
Stagecoach NZ operates bus services in the Wellington and Auckland areas of New Zealand, and ferry services in the Auckland area.
The enterprise value agreed for the disposal is NZ$250.5m, to be settled in cash.
The proceeds of the disposal will initially be used to reduce net debt, and the disposal is not expected to materially impact consolidated earnings per share.

Brian Souter, Stagecoach Group plc Chief Executive, commented: “The Group’s New Zealand operations have been tremendously successful under our ownership, delivering excellent financial returns. We received an approach about the possible sale of the business and, after assessing Infratil’s offer and the prospects for the New Zealand operations, we concluded that the disposal was in the best interests of our shareholders. We remain focused on our strategy of maximising shareholder value from the Group’s portfolio of bus and rail businesses through organic growth and we are continuing to explore the potential for complementary acquisitions in the UK and North American bus markets."

Just thought you would like to know. David