Darwen plans to acquire Optare in ‘transformational’ purchase

Optare gains its fourth owner in recent years

Optare gains its fourth owner in recent years

Darwen Holdings, the AIM-listed bus manufacturer, last week announced that it had agreed to acquire Jamesstan Investments, the parent of Optare, the UK’s third largest bus builder, in a move described as transformational.

The Blackburn-based firm has been in talks with Optare’s owner since early May when shares in the group were suspended. The acquisition will see Jamesstan Investments sole shareholder, Roy Stanley, who is also chairman and a substantial shareholder in Darwen,...