Struggling British transport firm National Express PLC said yesterday it had received a preliminary approach about a possible merger from rival Stagecoach Group PLC.
The announcement came after a potential bidder for National Express pulled out. On Friday, a consortium headed by Spain’s Cosmen family said it would not make an offer for National Express.
Shares in the bus and rail operator slumped by almost 30 percent on the news.
National Express said it would consider Stagecoach’s “highly preliminary” proposal for an all-share transaction in which National Express shareholders would hold no more than 40 percent of the enlarged group.
Stagecoach confirmed the approach, adding that “there can be no certainty either that an offer for National Express will be forthcoming or as to the terms of any such offer, save clearly that any offer would require the recommendation of the National Express Board.” Stagecoach had been lined up to buy National Express’s British rail and bus business under the plans drawn up by the Cosmens and buyout firm CVC Capital Partners Ltd. Stagecoach had previously ruled itself out of bidding alone for National Express.
National Express has been targeted for takeover since it announced in July that it expected to default on its franchise to operate rail services between London and Edinburgh.
The company, which is carrying £1 billion (US$1.69 billion) in debt, had been contracted to run the line until 2015, but the business lost £20 million in the first half of this year because customer growth stalled.
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
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