The Official Journal of the European Union publishes in its issue dated June 29th the notification of proposed concentration between the German transportation company  Deutsche Bahn and British Arriva. The Commission invites any interested party to send its comments over this operation until 10 days after publication in the OJ.

The European Commission received on June 22nd a notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 by which the German transportation undertaking Deutsche Bahn AG  would acquires within the meaning of Article 3. 1 b) of the Merger Regulation control of the whole of  the company Arriva plc by way of public bid.

Deutsche Bahn and Arriva main activities

• Deutsche Bahn AG: active in several Member states in, inter alia, passenger transport by rail and bus, the operation of railway infrastructure and stations, freight forwarding and logistics (including freight transport) and ancillary services. With about 237.000 employees DB provides mobility and logistics services for customers around the world, as well as controlling and operating the related transport networks in the rail, land, ocean, and air freight transport sectors. In the 2007 financial year, DB AG posted revenues of about 31.31 billion euros, as well as operating profits (EBIT) of 2.4 billion euros before special items.
• Arriva plc (Public, PINK:ARRVF): active in several member States in transport services including bus, train, commuter coach, water bus and airport related transport services, as well as bus and coach distribution. Arriva is one of the largest transport services organisations in Europe, employing more than 42.000 people and delivering more than one billion passenger journeys across 12 European countries every year.

The Commission has not found on its preliminary examination any reason for which the operation could fall within the scope the EC Merger Regulation, but still reserves the the final decision on this point.

Commission invites interested third parties to submit their possible observations on the proposed operation to the Commission. Observations must reach the Commission not later than 10 days following the date of publication in the OJ, and can be sent to the Commission by fax (+32 22964301), by e-mail to COMP-MERGER-REGISTRY@ec.europa.eu or by post, under reference number COMP/M.5855 — Deutsche Bahn/Arriva, to the following address:

European Commission
Directorate-General for Competition
Merger Registry
J-70
1049 Bruxelles/Brussel
BELGIQUE/BELGIË