The battle for control of bus maker Optare is over before it has really begun.
The North Yorkshire based business is 26% owned by India's Ashok Leyland, which has agree to raise its shareholding to 75% in a discounted share placing and giving the company access to a £12m credit line.
On Wednesday rival Alexander Dennis - a Falkirk busmaker backed by Stagecoach founder Sir Brian Souter - said it was considering making an offer for Optare. But it has now withdrawn from the race, after Ashok said it was not prepared to sell its shares to anyone at any price. Alexander Dennis said it had not received any financial information it requested from Optare, but Optare countered it wanted to make sure an offer was forthcoming before providing commercially sensitive information to a competitor.
The news has sent Optare shares 20% lower to 0.475p.
