The board of the rail and bus operator has reached an agreement with a consortium made up of Australian bus operator Kinetic and Spanish transport infrastructure company Globalvia to buy all of the shares in the company at 1,500 pence each - valuing the firm at £647.7m.
But fellow Australian transport firm Kelsian - which has also made an initial takeover approach - has released a statement urging Go-Ahead shareholders not to accept any bid as it finalises its potential offer.
The takeover interest comes after a challenging period for Go-Ahead, in which it received a £23.5m fine over a breach of a rail franchise around London.
We take a look at the key players and what happens next.
Who is Go Ahead?
Go-Ahead is an international transport group with more than 27,000 global employees in the UK, Singapore, Ireland, Sweden, Norway and Germany.
Go-Ahead operates a fleet of more than 6,000 buses across England and is responsible for a quarter of London's buses for Transport for London. Regionally, Go-Ahead serves high-density commuter markets in the North East, Greater Manchester, East Yorkshire, Oxfordshire, East Anglia and both the South East & West of England. International bus operations include Singapore, Ireland and Sweden.
Go-Ahead operates UK rail franchises Govia Thameslink Railway, which comprises Southern, Gatwick Express, Great Northern and Thameslink. GTR is managed by Go-Ahead's 65% owned subsidiary Govia (which is 35% owned by Keolis (UK) Limited). Internationally, Go-Ahead operates rail services in Germany and Norway.
Who wants to buy it?
Bidco (Kinetic and Globalvia) consortium
Bidco, a limited company was formed on May 24 for the purposes of the proposed acquisition by Australian bus operator Kinetic and Spanish transport infrastructure company Globalvia.
They have come together for a takeover bid that values Go Ahead at around £647.7million.
Founded more than 44 years ago, Kinetic is the largest and fastest growing bus operator in Australia and New Zealand, with close to 4,000 buses and 6,000 employees.
By the end of 2022, Kinetic is expected to be the region's largest operator of electric buses, with over 200 electric buses in operation.
Kinetic has established an Australasian platform across 70 depots, which now includes 35% of Melbourne's bus network, over 40% of all bus operations throughout Queensland, the largest privately owned and government contractor in Tasmania and urban services in all major New Zealand cities.
Kinetic also operates Go Bus school bus brand in New Zealand, airport transit business Skybus and Greyhound Resource.
It holds more than 90 long-term contracts with state governments in Australia, including Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania, New South Wales, and with all major councils in New Zealand and the New Zealand government.
Globalvia manages transport infrastructure concessions including highways, metro lines and railways in Spain, the U.S., Ireland, Portugal, Costa Rica, and Chile and has more than 2,000 employees.
Globalvia has introduced the Slora app in the US, Costa Rica and Portugal and digital corridors to enable the future of connected and autonomous vehicles in the US, Portugal and Spain.
Kelsian Group
Kelsian could well prompt a takeover bidding war released a statement urging Go-Ahead shareholders not to accept any bid, including the Bidco offer, before finalising its own potential offer.
Kelsian has been operating for more than 30 years with established operations in London and Singapore.
Today, the group is one of Australia's most experienced providers of ferries, bus, and light rail both domestically and internationally.
At the end of 2021, it operated approximately 4,200 buses, 116 vessels and 24 light rail vehicles and had around 9,500 employees.
Kelsian has recently placed Australia's largest order for electric buses and also the first in Australia to buy hydrogen buses.
Headquartered in Adelaide since 1989, Kelsian has grown through strategic acquisitions and organic growth to emerge as a leader in public bus and marine transport, and tourism operations.
What happens next?
If a majority of 75% of Go Ahead shareholders accept the decision of the board, its deal with the Bidco consortium can continue.
The full timetable will come in the next 28 days but the group is hoping to have it wrapped up by October.
Kelsian has released a statement confirming it is still in discussions in taking over Go-Ahead, though that “does not amount to an announcement of a firm intention to make an offer". It has asked Go Ahead shareholders to 'take no action' and to see if a rival Kelsian bid does come through before making any decision.
