SGX-listed transportation firm ComfortDelGro Corporation has offered to acquire A2B Australia Limited, a listed taxi network and payments solutions provider, for A$182 million (about $123 million), according to a filing with the Singapore bourse.
ComfortDelGro Corporation Australia, a wholly-owned subsidiary of ComfortDelGro, has agreed to acquire all the shares of A2B it does not already own for a cash offer price of A$1.45 per share.
ComfortDelGro and its Australian subsidiary Swan Taxis currently hold about 9.3% of A2B.
ComfortDelGro said the A2B Board of Directors has unanimously recommended that A2B’s shareholders vote in favour of the scheme, subject to no superior proposal and an independent expert concluding that the scheme is in the best interest of A2B shareholders.
The acquisition, according to ComfortDelGro managing director and Group CEO Cheng Siak Kian, is in line with the transport company’s strategy to scale its point-to-point mobility business in key markets.
“As a leading taxi network in Australia, A2B is highly complementary to our business. Its fundamentals are attractive, with a proven track record of expansion driven by underlying growth in customer demand and driver supply,” Kian added.
The acquisition would also allow for the diversification of the group’s offerings in Australia, “transforming ComfortDelGro Corporation Australia into a national multi-modal mobility player”, he added.
The transaction is slated for completion in the first half of 2024 and is subject to approval from A2B’s shareholders, the Australian court and clearance from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, among other conditions.
The transaction will be implemented by way of a scheme of arrangement, a court-supervised process under which a meeting of A2B shareholders will be held to vote on the transaction, ComfortDelGro disclosed.
A2B, which is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange, operates taxi services brands 13cabs and Silver Service, a taxi and booking despatch platform MTI, and the Cabcharge payment solution.
“We believe this transaction will further strengthen our A2B business as it is a great match of two remarkable companies offering complementary services and markets,” said A2B executive chairman Mark Bayliss.
ComfortDelGro is one of the world’s largest land transport companies with a total fleet size of about 34,000 buses, taxis and rental vehicles. It also runs 177 kilometres of light and heavy rail networks in Singapore and New Zealand and will operate another 33 kilometres in France come 2025.