Greyhound Lines Put Up For Sale by U.K. Owner

Greyhound Lines owner U.K.-based FirstGroup said Thursday it is putting the bus company up for sale and separating the U.K. bus division from the remainder of the company.

FirstGroup said it wants to focus on its school transportation and commuter businesses.

Greyhound has “limited synergies” with its other businesses in North America, the company said in a statement, adding that “value for shareholders can best be delivered by seeking new owners.”

The intercity common bus carrier serves 2,400 destinations across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, and transports nearly 16 million passengers each year.

Founded in 1914 in Hibbing, Minnesota, Greyhound has been a household name in the United States, in part due to its slogan, “Go Greyhound and Leave the Driving to Us,” although in recent years it has seen a decline in business due to low-cost airlines and Chinatown bus services.

In the last quarter of the 20th century, Greyhound owned the Armour meat-packing company, which in turn owned Dial-brand soap, Traveller’s Express money orders, two bus manufacturing companies, and an aircraft leasing operation. It also owned the Premier Cruise Line and operated for eight years as the “Official Cruise Line of Walt Disney World.’

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