Stagecoach set to come back into NZ ownership

Auckland's main bus and ferry operator, Stagecoach, is likely to return to New Zealand ownership under a conditional sale offer announced late yesterday.

Investment company Infratil, which owns airports here and in Europe and has management experience with Waikato buses, told the stock exchange it had agreed to buy Stagecoach's New Zealand arm.

Managing director Lloyd Morrison said last night that he could not disclose details of the deal until the sale became unconditional - hopefully by November 29 - but said his company saw Stagecoach as a long-term investment. "We are in public transport for the long-haul."

Stagecoach owns more than 900 buses in Auckland and Wellington, and employs 1800 people, including those of Fullers fleet of seven ferries.

It bought its Auckland operation in 1998 from regional public ownership for $111 million and says a heavy investment in new buses means it has never returned a dividend to its British parent.

Britain's Sunday Times said last month that analysts believed a sale of the New Zealand operation could raise about $250 million.

Auckland Tramways Union president Gary Froggatt said Stagecoach had assured him that although there would be some management restructuring, it would be "business as usual" for drivers and buses.