Shares of FirstGroup plc (LON: FGP) fell 2.87% despite the lack of major announcements from the company, which is in the middle of restructuring its business by selling some of its business units.
The British multinational transport group is in the process of selling its US division to pay some of its debts, and the unit is currently up for sale at a £2.5 billion price tag. The company’s stock price fell 42% last year but is up 129% over the last six months having recovered in H2 2020.
FirstGroup has received several offers from private equity companies EQT Infrastructure and KKR interested in taking over its US business. However, the company is yet to make an official decision over the matter.
FirstGroup faced some headwinds after terminating its Southwestern Railway franchise with the UK government where it received a reliable income in the form of regular payments despite the number of customers served.
The company is still restructuring its sprawling operations, having sold some of the properties associated with its Greyhound property portfolio in North America booking a $100 million profit.
FirstGroup’s shares may rally higher if the above sale is completed successfully allowing it to repay some of its debts given that its shares are trading near the 80p resistance level and a break above its could herald a new uptrend.
FirstGroup share price
FirstGroup shares plunged 2.87% to trade at 72.75p having fallen from Thursday’s closing price of 74.9p.
