German Deutsche Bahn (DB) has completed the sale of its former subsidiary Arriva to I Squared Capital, a firm specialising in investment in infrastructure projects. The new owner of the UK-based group sees future opportunities in the company.
The two companies announced yesterday the completion of the divestment of the DB group, valued at €1.6 billion.
DB announced its intention to sell Arriva as part of its “Starke Schiene” (Strong Rail) strategy to focus its resources on Germany and its core business. The bus and train activities in Sweden were sold to Finland’s national railway, VR Group, in July 2022, and the bus business in Portugal to Israel’s Dan Group in December 2022. The operations in Serbia and Denmark and the bus activities in Poland were sold to Munich-based private equity firm Mutares in 2023.
I Squared Capital, new owner of Arriva group
The deal to sell the rest of Arriva to I Squared Capital, an investor in energy, utilities, telecoms and transport, was announced in October 2023 and approved by the European Commission in January.
UK-based Arriva employs around 34,400 people and makes around 1.6 billion passenger journeys a year on trains, buses, trams, boats, bike sharing and on-demand transport. It operates services in several European countries, including Spain.
Mike Cooper, CEO of Arriva Group, said the completion of the transaction marks an important milestone and an exciting new chapter. With the backing of I Squared, Arriva is committed to working alongside passenger transport authorities to deliver essential transport links and build a more sustainable future.
As part of its strategy to focus on the rail transport business in Germany, the federal company is now engaged in the sale of its logistics subsidiary DB Schenker.
