BET to bid for United
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• British Electric Traction Co, Ltd„ which already owns 16.5 per cent of United Transport Company Ltd., announced last week that it might make a bid for UTC. Negotiations with "certain large shareholders" are under way. The terms being offered-11 BET deferred ordinary shares for every six UTC ordinary— value each UTC share at 29s ld. The market price of UTC ordinary shares was 25s 9d when the bid was revealed.
BET's annual report and accounts for the year ended March 31.1969 include a review by Sir John Spencer Wills, chairman and managing director. Sir John reveals that the £35m in cash received from the Transport Holding Company for the purchase of the Group's interests in UK bus companies has been redeployed in the purchase of businesses and in increasing investment in existing subsidiaries. The annual profit, after tax and minority interests, amounted to £7,187,000, only £87,000 under the 1968 record.
Sir John estimates that profit for the current year, after tax and minority interests, should exceed £74-m, though any further down-turn in the economy or the imposition of further burdens by the Government would be likely to make this forecast unrealistic.
BET subsidiary or associated companies in the transport field experienced mixed fortunes during the year. Canadian Motorways, carrying all types of freight between Montreal. Toronto, Winnipeg and Vancouver achieved a net profit, after tax, of £450,000 but heavy inflation in Canada is causing costs to rise quicker than charges. A new three-year agreement between the employers and the union in Eastern Canada has increased costs by more than 20 per cent compared with 1968 with probable profit reduction.
In Jamaica, BET's associated company Jamaica Omnibus Services, had a difficult year in 1968. Fares increases were granted substantially as applied for but 14 buses were completely destroyed during a civil disturbance in October. and a great many more were