Plain White Buses

[Nathan4775]

Was looking through some TWM pictures an found several white buses, why was several buses painted white ? Was it a trial livery or something?

[Liverpool Street]

It was when TWM was going down the swanny and nx was going to sell it off, they started painting buses white ready for the take over. Sh!t happened since and the situation never arisen.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

[bwsau cymru]

It was when TWM was going down the swanny and nx was going to sell it off, they started painting buses white ready for the take over. Sh!t happened since and the situation never arisen.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

no fully correct, but goes to show how bad things must of been if they was painting buses all right ready for a take over!

[Nathan4775]

Who was 'supposedly' taking over TWM ?

[trident4370]

Who was 'supposedly' taking over TWM ?

I think it was Stagecoach wasn't it?

[nx4737]

Who was 'supposedly' taking over TWM ?

I think it was Stagecoach wasn't it?

Yes.

How many buses were painted?

[the trainbasher]

It was CVC/Cosmen who initially bidded for them.

At the time, the Cosmen family had an 18.7 per cent stake in NatEx and Jorge Cosmen, head of the group's Alsa business which operates in Spain and Morocco, is deputy chairman of NatEx. NatEx bought Alsa in 2005.

Speculation also mounted that Stagecoach have considered a bid.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8169957.stm states that "Stagecoach has said it is in exclusive talks with potential buyers of rival National Express, over a possible break-up of the firm. A group including Spain's Cosmen family and private equity firm CVC has made a takeover proposal for National Express. And Perth-based Stagecoach expressed interest in "certain assets and businesses" should the bid succeed. But Stagecoach will also consider "all other options" - which media reports say may include its own individual bid. On Monday, the Financial Times reported that National Express was set to reject the approach from the consortium of CVC and the Cosmen family."

[Rob H]

Who was 'supposedly' taking over TWM ?

I think it was Stagecoach wasn't it?

Yes.

How many buses were painted?

I know 1661, 4128 & 4522 were painted white  :)

[the trainbasher]

Who was 'supposedly' taking over TWM ?

I think it was Stagecoach wasn't it?

Yes.

How many buses were painted?

I know 1661, 4128 & 4522 were painted white  :)

1658 too.

[Trident 4609]

299 was painted white and some of the Spectras were too

[D10]

It was when TWM was going down the swanny and nx was going to sell it off, they started painting buses white ready for the take over. Sh!t happened since and the situation never arisen.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

At the time, the word was that  this was one of many desperate austerity measures that NX Group imposed on subsidiary companies to save cash. Basically it saved money both in paint and paint shop workers wages if only one colour was used and no connection bars were put on. Other measures included a virtual ban on anybody ordering stationary!

[bwsau cymru]

Stagecoach was only interest in West Midlands travel, and if they could get the whole of it they didn't want in initially. It is apparently something which Brian Souter has had on his shopping list for a while.
But realisicly I could see how the competitions lot could allow it, stagecoach would have a giant network with its overlap in Coventry (Coventry I would guess they would be forced to sell) and then as to the nx coach network stagecoach would then almost become the Uk's coach network

[BU07 LGO]

299 was painted white and some of the Spectras were too

and two or three spectras

[Trident 4609]

299 was painted white and some of the Spectras were too

and two or three spectras

As i stated above

[winston]

It was CVC/Cosmen who initially bidded for them.

At the time, the Cosmen family had an 18.7 per cent stake in NatEx and Jorge Cosmen, head of the group's Alsa business which operates in Spain and Morocco, is deputy chairman of NatEx. NatEx bought Alsa in 2005.

Speculation also mounted that Stagecoach have considered a bid.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8169957.stm states that "Stagecoach has said it is in exclusive talks with potential buyers of rival National Express, over a possible break-up of the firm. A group including Spain's Cosmen family and private equity firm CVC has made a takeover proposal for National Express. And Perth-based Stagecoach expressed interest in "certain assets and businesses" should the bid succeed. But Stagecoach will also consider "all other options" - which media reports say may include its own individual bid. On Monday, the Financial Times reported that National Express was set to reject the approach from the consortium of CVC and the Cosmen family."

Whilst it was CVC Capital/The Comsen's that made the first actual public bid offer. It was actually First Group that initiated proceedings by making a merger approach to NX in June 2009

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/transport/5682755/National-Express-shares-jump-on-FirstGroup-all-share-merger-approach.html

Whilst it was CVC Capital/The Comsen's that made the first actual public bid offer. It was actually First Group that initiated proceedings by making a merger approach to NX in June 2009

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/transport/5682755/National-Express-shares-jump-on-FirstGroup-all-share-merger-approach.html

The CVC Capital/Cosmens bid was made in July 2009 and Stagecoach was in discussions with that consortium with a view to doing a side deal and buying NX's UK bus & coach assets

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/transport/5919299/Stagecoach-eyes-National-Express-assets.html

Once CVC Capital/The Comsens withdrew their bid for NX in October 2009, Stagecoach them made a direct merger approach to NX themselves

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/transport/6456895/National-Express-rejects-1.65bn-merger-bid-by-Stagecoach.html

It was during this time that the NXWM buses going through Walsall paintshop were painted allover white as if memory serves me correctly the Stagecoach proposal came almighty close to being a reality, as it was also during this time that the white buses only had West Midlands logo's, any reference to National Express wasn't applied until a later. I understand the main stumbling block was the percentage in the enlarge group being offered to National Express. I think it was something like 60/40 to Stagecoach where NX wanted 50/50. After the Stagecoach merger approach was rejected, repaints soon reverted to red/white NX colours with NX logo's.