ARRIVA acquired by I SQUARED CAPITAL

Deutsche Bahn signed an agreement in October 2023 to sell Arriva Group to I Squared Capital, and the transaction completed on 3 June 2024, once the closing conditions were met and the German supervisory board, the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport and the competition authorities had given their approval. The sale covered all of Arriva’s operating businesses across eleven countries, at an enterprise value of €1–4bn, an EV/revenue multiple of [members only] on revenue of €2.5–5bn. Deutsche Bahn had bought the British transport operator in 2010 and put it up for sale in 2019 to reduce its debt, as part of its Strong Rail strategy of concentrating resources on its domestic rail business in Germany. Before selling the group, it had disposed of Arriva’s operations in markets it no longer considered core, including Sweden and Portugal in 2022, then Serbia, Denmark and its Polish bus business in 2023. Arriva kept its brand after the transaction, and its management team, led by chief executive Mike Cooper, stayed in place. I Squared Capital committed to invest in expanding and electrifying the fleet, with a significant share of that spending earmarked for the UK operations.