As FirstGroup quits, the owner of FlixBus joins Greyhound.

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After more than two years of trying, British transport giant FirstGroup has purchased its Greyhound intercity coach network in the United States to Germany’s FlixMobility.

FirstGroup is exiting its foreign business with the transaction, which is valued at approximately $46 million. It sold its school bus and transit company in the United States earlier this year to private-equity firm EQT (NYSE: EQT) in order to focus on its UK bus and rail businesses.

FirstGroup would get a total of $172 million in cash from the transaction, according to a statement released on Thursday, with a portion of that amount going toward paying down Greyhound’s liabilities and leases.

It will keep parts of Greyhound’s properties and residual liabilities, including as its pension and self-insurance.

Greyhound, based in Dallas, has been a household name in North America since its founding in 1914, and was placed up for sale in May 2019 as it battled rising competition from low-cost airlines. FlixMobility, the parent company of the European intercity bus service FlixBus, stated that the acquisition will allow it combine its technology and shared mobility experience with Greyhound’s statewide reach.

Greyhound has a fleet of 1,300 cars and employs 2,400 people to connect 1,750 destinations across North America. The agreement will assist FirstGroup in reducing its adjusted net debt to about 10 million to 20 million pounds ($27.60 million), which is approximately 80 million to 90 million pounds less than an earlier expectation.

Story by : Norvisi Mawunyegah