Adl's Acquisition of Custom Coaches

PART A 1
With reference to the academic literature and using your analysis of relevant environmental factors, speculate how (the process) and why (the drivers) ADL identified Custom Coaches as a potential acquisition. In which areas are the expected benefits and synergies for both companies involved?
The world bus manufacturing industry has seen a gradual upsurge in demand since the recent years with factors attributing to mainly two reasons. One, the rise in fuel prices coupled with recession have forced people to opt for cheaper forms of transport i.e. public transport (Unknown, 2004). Secondly, the mounting pressure from the increasing world population has had widespread impacts including rising demand for better public transport (BIC, 2013). These factors have led to a gradual but constant rise in demand for new and better buses. If reports are to be believed this industry is expected to be worth £27 billion by 2013 with a CAGR of 3.1% (Business Monitor International, 2012).
However, the bus manufacturing industry is also met with several challenges ranging from environmental to legislative issues. These issues include reducing Carbon footprints and Greenhouse emissions and limited oil supply (Business Monitor International, 2012). These environmental and legal factors have forced the bus manufacturers to invest more in technology to produce more environment friendly and fuel-efficient buses (Stanley & Hensher, 2009).
The highly consolidated bus industry has therefore undergone many changes including dissolution and new mergers and acquisition to meet the rising demand for better buses. The acquisition of Custom Coaches by ADL can be attributed to several factors.
Already the largest bus manufacturer in the UK and one of the biggest in the world ADL had been keen on growing their business beyond international boundaries. Their expertise in building high quality hybrid buses have induced them to cater to developed market across the world. Until

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