Nat Express to raise capital - report

LONDON (Reuters) - Bus operator National Express Group Plc is expected to launch its rights issue on Wednesday, the Financial Times reported in its Wednesday edition.

The fund raising will be for between 370 million pounds and 375 million pounds, the newspaper said. It was uncertain if the Cosmen family, the company's largest shareholder, would back the issue, it reported.

A National Express spokesman referred a Reuters inquiry about the story to a company spokeswoman, who could not immediately be reached.

The cash raising was expected after the company rebuffed a merger proposal in October from rival Stagecoach Group Plc and said it was working on the details of the rights issue.

(Editing by Andre Grenon)