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Arriva confirms bid

Transport group Arriva has confirmed speculation which circulated in The City earlier this week of a possible takeover bid, boosting its share price yesterday.

The North East company recently broke off talks to merge its business with the Keolis transport unit of France’s SNCF, and since then traders have been speculating about possible suitors, with private equity also mentioned as a possibility.

A statement said: “Arriva confirms that it has received an unsolicited approach from a third party about a possible offer for the Company. There can be no certainty that any offer will be forthcoming.”

Press reports have speculated the bidder may now be German railway giant, Deutsche Bahn, but so far Arriva has refused to name anyone connected to the potential deal.

The latest talk comes after shares in Arriva grew by 300% on Tuesday. The news has also increased shares in rivals FirstGroup and National Express.

Arriva PLC is an international transport operator based in Sunderland and has bus and rail operations throughout Europe including Denmark, Germany, Italy and Spain.

It has become the third largest of the so-called ‘big give’’ bus operators in the UK, after FirstGroup and Stagecoach.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .