Arriva enters German bus market

British transport group Arriva today said it was entering the German bus market with the acquisition of one of the country’s largest privately owned bus companies.

Sunderland-based Arriva said it was paying up to £17.5m (€25.4m) for Sippel Group, which runs public transport in the Rhine-Main area, including Frankfurt, Mainz and Wiesbaden.

The German sub-contractor also provides scheduled services to private sector customers such as Frankfurt airport.

Arriva, which is already active in the German rail market, is hoping to take advantage of a trend towards competitive tendering in the country’s bus market. The Rhine-Main public transport agency has begun contracting out bus services and is expected to tender all regional routes in the next few years.

Sippel had a £22.8m (€33m) turnover and pre-tax earnings before interest and goodwill of £3.7 m €5.4m) in 2003.

Arriva entered the German transport market last April when it acquired rail company Prignitzer Eisenbahn Gruppe, which runs regional rail services in the federal states of North Rhine-Westphalia, Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-West Pomerania.

In October, it bought a 76.9% stake, now increased to 89.8%, in Regentalbahn, which runs regional passenger rail services in Bavaria, Thuringia and Saxony as well as joint services with the Swiss and Czech state railways.

Chief executive Bob Davies said the German public transport market was the largest in Europe and Sippel had an excellent reputation.

“This acquisition allows us to participate in future tenders for bus services in one of Germany’s most important economic regions,” he said.