NATIONAL Express has fired a new salvo in the ongoing takeover battle for Stagecoach, declaring this morning that its offer represents a “superior value creation opportunity” to the proposal tabled by DWS Infrastructure.

The bus giant has broken its silence after its propsoal for a £1.9 billion all-share merger with Stagecoach was cast aside last week in favour of cash bid from the German infrastructure investor, which valued the Scottish transport company at nearly £600 million, or 105p per share.

National Express declared this morning that it believes the offer from DWS “materially undervalues” Stagecoach, claiming that its proposal has the potential to unlock an “illustrative look-through value of 170p per Stagecoach share.”

But it did not raise its offer.

National Express reiterated that its offer would deliver annual cost savings of at least £45m, and would not result in job losses in frontline operational roles or depot closures, though it has previously conceded that there may be some redundancies as a result of duplication in some head office, corporate and senior management functions.

National Express noted that its proposal would see the merged company become a leading multi-modal transport provider in the UK, build scale and relevance in an increasingly “bus-friendly” UK market, expand across large urban areas and implement leading environmental and sustainability solutions.

Shares in Stagecoach edged up slightly following the intervention, and were trading at around 106.03p at around 10.30am, up 1.5p. National Express shares were trading up 3p at 235.2p at the same time.