National Express deputy chairman 'expected to resign'

Date: 2/11/2009

The National Express chairman of transport is 'expected to resign' this week after failing to reopen talks with Stagecoach about the proposed merger, according to a report.

A group of shareholders at National Express led by Jorge Cosmen and its Cosmen family stake of 18.5 per cent of the company attempted to gain favour with investors to re-open talks to merge with rival Stagecoach.

Mr Cosmen's attempts are "understood" to have failed in getting 51 per cent support, according to the Mail on Sunday, which reports a resignation will be expected by early next week.

His seat on the Board could "easily" be replaced by another member of the Cosmen family, the paper claims, noting they are apparently guaranteed a seat on the board as part of a merger arrangement dating back to 2005.

National Express reportedly backed away from talks when it was determined the merger would not be completed before the end of the year, which the company thought would translate into "significant uncertainty" for shareholders at year end.

The Cosmen family has issued an official statement in retaliation to the Mail on Sunday report that states Mr Cosmen will not be stepping down from National Express over the matter.

"Jorge Cosmen is not thinking of resigning. The Cosmen family continues to be committed as a long-term shareholder of National Express," explained a family spokesman on Sunday.