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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Business
Julia Kollewe

UK train operator FirstGroup considering £1.2bn takeover

FirstGroup United Kingdom I Squared Capital United States Aberdeen Avanti West Coast Great Western Railway South Western Railway TransPennine Express
TransPennine Express train.
FirstGroup runs four of the UK’s rail networks: Great Western Railway, South Western Railway, TransPennine Express and Avanti West Coast. Photograph: Danny Lawson/PA

FirstGroup, Britain’s biggest train operator, is evaluating a £1.2bn takeover offer from a US private equity firm, the latest UK transport group to become a takeover target.

The Aberdeen-based bus and rail operator said it had received a series of unsolicited proposals from I Squared Capital, and rejected them unanimously, apart from the latest approach, received on Wednesday evening, which it is evaluating.

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