National Express reaches peace deal

AN 11TH-HOUR peace deal warded off an activist shareholder rebellion at the annual general meeting of National Express yesterday after the transport group unveiled a truce with its biggest investor.

The agreement prevents Elliott Advisors from challenging the National Express board in public for at least 12 months.

The trade-off is that one of three non-executive directors proposed by Elliott for nomination to the group's board, Chris Muntwyler, has has been backed by the company.

National Express said the activist group, which has an 18 per cent stake in the company, had withdrawn its resolutions from the AGM and agreed to support the board on all other motions.

It said: "The board and Elliott have also reached agreement that, subject to certain conditions, Elliott will not call a general meeting or seek to agitate against the company, its board or management publicly until after the company's 2012 AGM at the earliest."

Elliott had wanted to appoint three directors and force National to be more proactive, including expansion in the US and possible industry consolidation.

A vote would have been close as there had been no clear indication of how National Express's second largest shareholder, the Cosmen family, intended to vote. The Spanish family owns 17.4 per cent and is reportedly keen for National Express to merge with another group.