(19 Oct 2023, 9:26 am)Michael wrote What does it say?, need to pay to read.
In a nutshell
Infrastructure fund I Squared Capital has said it will invest more than €2bn in growing and electrifying the fleet of Arriva after taking control of one of the biggest operators of red London buses and train services in the UK.
The Miami-based infrastructure investment group on Thursday announced a deal to acquire UK-based Arriva, Deutsche Bahn’s international transport business, and expressed interest in further transport deals in Europe.
Financial terms were not disclosed, but the deal is worth about €1.6bn including debt, the FT previously reported.
Mohamed El Gazzar, a senior partner at I Squared Capital, said in an interview that the deal represented a bet on both decarbonising transport and the UK more broadly.
even more on additional growth in rail transport in Germany,” said Levin Holle, Deutsche Bahn’s chief financial officer, in a statement.
Deutsche Bahn had considered a partial sale as early as 2016, having bought Arriva in 2010 for £1.5bn. Arriva has also sold off its operations in some non-core markets in recent years.
Headquartered in Sunderland, Arriva has 35,500 employees and operates rail services, local buses, commuter coaches and trams, transporting 1.5bn rail and bus passengers a year.
The company is best known for its position as one of the largest bus operators in London, where it operates the city’s iconic red double-decker buses for Transport for London.
It also has a significant presence in other parts of the UK bus market, and is responsible for about 15 per cent of the UK passenger rail market, including running trains on the London Overground network, and the CrossCountry and Chiltern Railways franchises.
Among its other European operations, Arriva operates buses in Spain and Italy, and trains in the Netherlands.
The transaction is expected to be completed next year subject to customary closing conditions, including approval by German officials.
(19 Oct 2023, 9:24 am)Storx wrote I might aswell say it before someone else does, wonder if they go for more areas if they would seriously consider taking over GoNorthEast.
It's a complete basket case, as it is, and Arriva has never had a presence in it's home city (which it would gain from doing so).
I seriously wouldn't be surprised if GoAhead want shot of it before long as it's clearly going nowhere under them. Apart from the Coast Road and Peterlee to Sunderland, there's not really much overlap nowadays.
Would it get through the Monopolies Commission (or whatever its called these days)?