Mobico Shares Jump 32% on 46p Takeover Approach Backed by Largest Shareholder

Mobico Group (LON: MCG) said yesterday it had received a 46p-a-share cash takeover approach from Autobuses de Leon, sending its shares up 32.5% in a single session. The Birmingham-based transport operator runs bus, coach and rail businesses across the UK, Spain, Morocco, Germany and the US.

The shares closed yesterday at 39.3p, against 29.66p the day before, on about 31 million shares traded. They touched 42.04p during the session, a 52-week high. At 08:19 London time in delayed trading, the price was 38.98p, down 0.81%.

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The proposal covers its entire issued and to-be-issued share capital. The bidder, Autobuses de Leon (AdL), is jointly owned by CMC Group and Fund III of Asterion Industrial Partners, a Madrid-based infrastructure investment manager.

The independent directors are minded to recommend the proposal, meaning they would back a firm bid at this price, subject to agreeing full terms. AdL has been granted confirmatory due diligence, the stage where a bidder checks the books before committing.

The 46p proposal is about 55% above the 29.66p close before the news, and above the roughly 21p to 30p range the shares traded in from mid-April until the news. Across 614,086,377 shares in issue, it values Mobico’s equity at about £282.5m.

Yesterday’s close of 39.3p still sat about 15% below 46p. That gap suggests the market is not treating a deal as certain: the approach is a possible offer, not a binding one.

CMC Group is Mobico’s largest shareholder with 26%, and has been invested in the company since selling it the ALSA bus business in 2005.

There is no certainty a firm offer will follow. AdL has until 5pm London time on the 18th of November to announce a firm intention to make an offer or walk away, and it reserves the right to bid less in certain circumstances.