The European Commission has approved the acquisition of Arriva by I Squared Capital Advisors, paving the way for the sale of the German state railway-owned company. The Commission has approved the acquisition under the European Union Merger Regulation of control of Deutsche Bahn’s Arriva operations by the US firm, following the agreement reached in October 2023.
The European Commission concluded that: “the notified transaction would not raise competition concerns, given that the companies are not active in the same or vertically related markets.”
The deal is expected to be completed later this year, and DB says the sale will allow it to focus on its Strong Rail Group strategy to target resources at its core domestic business and enable additional growth in rail transport in its home market.
