The
Arriva
Group


has
been
sold
by
German
state-owned
train
operator
Deutsche
Bahn
to
the
American
transport
investor
I
Squared
Capital.
The
value
of
the
sale
has
not
been
disclosed,
but
it
is
reported
to
be
around
£1.4
billion.

DB
bought
the
British
company
Arriva
from
its
shareholders
in
2010,
after
it
had
been
founded
as
leasing
company
Cowie
in
north
east
England
in
1938.
Cowie
entered
the
bus
market
in
the
1980s
as
a
result
of
deregulation
and
privatisation.

Arriva
owns
the
Department
for
Transport
contract
to
run
CrossCountry,
which
has
just
been
renewed
and
started
on
Sunday.
It
also
has
the
Chiltern
Railways
contract
and
owns
a
number
of
bus
companies
in
Britain
and
on
the
continent,
where
it
also
runs
some
train
operators.

The
Group
has
been
running
trains
in
Britain
since
early
2000,
when
it
acquired
first-generation
franchise
holder
MTL
Group. DB
had
been
trying
to
sell
Arriva
for
some
time
to
raise
cash,
but
reported
interest
from
FirstGroup
came
to
nothing.

Deutsche
Bahn’s
CFO
Dr
Levin
Holle
said:
‘We
are
happy
that
I
Squared
is
willing
to
support
Arriva
in
its
future
growth. 
Arriva
has
good
prospects
for
sustainable
growth
as
market
liberalisation
in
Europe
progresses.
The
strategic
goal
of
Deutsche
Bahn
is
to
make
record
level
investments
in
environmentally
friendly
rail
in
our
core
business,
combined
with
the
massive
increase
of
investment
of
the
German
Federal
Government
into
our
German
rail
infrastructure.
The
purchase
agreement
signed
today
is
therefore
in
the
spirit
of
Strong
Rail.
At
the
same
time,
the
sale
to
I
Squared
will
give
Arriva
new
options
to
support
its
growth
potential,
for
example
for
the
future
electrification
of
European
fleets.
For
us,
the
agreed
sale
is
an
important
step
to
focus
even
more
on
additional
growth
in
rail
transport
in
Germany.’

I
Squared
invests
in
transport,
logistics,
energy,
utilities,
and
digital
infrastructure.
The
firm
said
it
‘is
committed
to
creating
sustainable,
long-term
growth
across
its
portfolio,
supporting
management
teams
in
improving
operational
performance,
and
investing
to
support
the
energy
transition
with
lower-carbon
infrastructure’.

Managing
partner
Gautam
Bhandan
said:
‘Transport
accounts
for
around
one-fifth
of
global
CO₂
emissions.
Three-quarters
of
this
is
from
road
transport,
and
a
greener
public
transport
sector
is
critical
to
the
shift
to
lower-carbon
infrastructure.
Arriva’s
strategy
for
net-zero
operations
and
the
decarbonisation
of
its
fleet
aligns
with
our
strategy
to
develop
and
scale
assets
with
technologies
that
accelerate
the
energy
transition,
as
well
as
providing
cleaner
air
in
cities
and
towns
by
investing
in
green
public
transport.
We
are
excited
to
work
with
Arriva
and
we
will
invest
to
support
its
future
growth
as
a
major
European
bus
and
rail
operator.’

Arriva
Group
Mike
Cooper
added:
‘We
want
to
see
a
future
where
people
choose
to
leave
their
car
at
home,
a
future
with
less
traffic
congestion
and
cleaner
air.
This
transaction
marks
an
exciting
next
stage
for
us,
and
will
deliver
significant
benefits
for
our
colleagues,
our
passengers
and
the
many
Passenger
Transport
Authorities
we
partner
with
across
Europe,
enabling
us
to
play
our
role
in
delivering
a
better
future.’

The
sale
of
Arriva
should
be
completed
next
year,
so
long
as
closing
conditions
and
approvals
are
agreed.