Leyland sale date
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• Leyland Bus is set to be sold by BL which has invited tenders from three rival bidders by June 26.
The bidders include the Laird Group (MCWs parent company), Aveling Barford and a consortium led by Leyland Bus managing director Ian McKinnon.
The bids are to be submitted to Hill Samuel, which is the merchant bank advisor to the BL board and will then make a recommendation to the Government.
To ensure the new owner benefits from the aftermarket it will get a stake in Leyland Parts which is to remain part of BL for the time being.
Leyland Bus is continuing to face chronic market conditions at home owing to a market depressed by recession, a drop in the numbers of incoming tourists and the uncertainty created by the 1985 Transport Act.
It had hoped that a major order for buses from the Thai capital, Bangkok, last year could have helped it ride the storm but the Thai cabinet rejected the deal accepted by the bus operating authority as it would add to Thailand's foreign debt burden.
Since then the Bangkok Transit Authority has looked at the possibility of leasing buses. A 245 million leasing plan put forward by a Singapore company has also been rejected by the Thai cabinet.
It is now likely that the whole deal, which could involve the supply of 1,000
buses, will be put out to retender and it is unlikely that any decision would be possible before the Thai general election on July 27.
Leyland Bus has confirmed that it is continuing to seek the business.