Passenger transport group Stagecoach is to acquire the Wigan bus business and assets from First Manchester, part of FirstGroup.

Stagecoach is paying £12m for a business which operates both commercial bus services and a small number of school contracts.

In the 12 months to the end of March the business had revenues of £13.2m, made earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of £2.2m and an operating profit of £1.5m.

The acquisition will allow Stagecoach to expand its bus operations in the Greater Manchester region, where it already operates around 630 buses and employs 1,850 staff.

The acquired business employs around 300 workers, and these will transfer to Stagecoach's Greater Manchester Buses East Limited business under Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) arrangements.

Stagecoach expects the acquisition to be completed in early December 2012.

Bus and train operator FirstGroup said the disposal was part of its strategy to reposition its UK bus division to focus on those areas that offer the greatest potential for growth.

"The sale of our Wigan bus business marks continued progress in our programme of selected asset and business disposals as we review the scope and scale of our UK Bus portfolio and reposition it for the longer term," said Tim O'Toole, Chief Executive of FirstGroup.

"With a clear focus we are working through a detailed plan to recover performance in our UK Bus division and equip the business to achieve sustainable growth and improved returns," O'Toole added.

JH

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