Winnipeg based New Flyer buys Motor Coach Industries

WINNIPEG —   New Flyer has purchased Motor Coach Industries for $455 million US. ($604 million CDN)

The Winnipeg bus manufacturer announced the acquisition in a news release Tuesday.

New Flyer’s President and CEO, Paul Soubry, said in a statement “We are thrilled to combine North America’s #1 brand in heavy duty-transit buses with North America’s #1 brand in motor coaches”

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MCI is North America’s largest producer of highway coaches. New Flyer is the main producer for transit buses.

New Flyer has 1300 employees in Winnipeg, MCI has close to 900 employees.

“It’s a really important deal for Winnipeg’s future,” Barry Prentice, a professor with the University of Manitoba’s Transport Institute said.  “These are both long established Winnipeg companies.  This ensures, I believe, that they should be here for a long time to come.

The deal requires approval from both Canadian Competition Act and U.S antitrust and won’t likely be finalized until the end of 2015.