Singapore's SMRT decides not to make bid for British taxi firm Addison Lee

PUBLIC transport operator SMRT Corporation on Monday said it has decided not to make a bid at this stage to acquire British taxi company Addison Lee.

It was responding to an Oct 11 report by Channel NewsAsia which had mentioned that SMRT was said to be considering a takeover bid for Addison Lee. The report in turn cited Britain's Sky News which said that SMRT is in the early stages of making an offer of £800 million (S$1.6 billion).

"The company is constantly looking out for investment opportunities that contribute to sustainable growth for its stakeholders. In this regard, the company was approached by an investment bank on the possible sale of Addison Lee.

"Having considered the matter, the company has decided not to make a bid at this stage to acquire Addison Lee," SMRT said in a statement on Monday.

Sky News has reported that Addison Lee is being put up for sale by its private equity owner, Carlyle Group, which paid £300 million for a majority stake in April 2013. It also said that besides SMRT, private equity firms BC Partners, CVC Capital and Charterhouse are among the organisations making bids.