Transport giant in £126m swoop on US operator

Coach and train group National Express beefed up its US business yesterday with the acquisition of the country’s fifth-largest school bus operator.

The firm, which runs the c2c and East Anglia franchises as well as being Britain’s largest coach operator, is paying $200 million (£126m) for Petermann Partners, the biggest firm of its kind in Ohio.

Petermann will increase National Express’s distinctive yellow bus fleet by a fifth or 3,300 vehicles, while the deal will immediately boost its earnings.

Chief executive Dean Finch said the move represented a “targeted expansion” following a recovery in margins and return to organic growth in the region.

National Express’s North American business contributed nearly 30 per cent of the company’s first-half operating profits of £117.6m.

Gert Zonneveld, an analyst at Panmure Gordon, said the acquisition was a “sizeable transaction” that fits in well with the firm’s strategy to expand its footprint in US student transport.