Thursday, March, 28, 2024 06:02:34

Infratil has reportedly announced that it plans to sell its New Zealand bus transport business to Next Capital, an Australian private equity firm. Post the transaction closure, the New Zealand firm Infratil expects to receive between $218 million and $240 million from the sale.

A press release by Infratil claims Kevin Baker, NZ Bus Chairman, to have reportedly quoted stating that the conditional sale agreement would help NZ Bus to grow its business under the new ownership, which will help Infratil invest in established platforms and target retirement services, renewable energy, and growth in data and connectivity.

For the record, Infratil, having owned NZ Bus for 13 years, had been reviewing its ownership since February after negotiations ended with Auckland and Wellington councils in smaller contracts with the local authorities. The 20 Auckland contracts were worth around $1 billion, with an average term of 9 years, while the 5 Wellington contracts were valued at $323m, with an average tenure of 10.8 years.

Reliable reports affirm that the UBS New Zealand was the advisor for Infratil regarding the strategic review as well as the transaction, while Next Capital chose Murray & Co.

About NZ Bus

NZ Bus provides public transport operations in Wellington, Auckland, and Tauranga under long term contracts with relevant local authorities. The company consists of 720 buses, which operate from 13 depot locations and has 1,400 employees across Wellington, Auckland, and Tauranga.

About Next Capital

Next Capital, founded in 2005, is a leading Australasian private equity firm with strong operational focus. Next Capital was a former owner of Go Bus, a New Zealand based public transport operator and Forest Coach Lines. NZ Bus will be Next Capital’s fourth major investment in New Zealand following Healtheries, Hirepool, and Nutra-Life. These businesses have seen record investment to produce world class local operations that have gone on to compete in the global scenario.