THE expected takeover of North-East bus and rail firm Arriva has been completed by German transport operator Deutsche Bahn.

The Sunderland-based firm is the UK’s third largest transport company, running rail and bus services in the North-East as well as 20 per cent of London buses and a number of other transport franchises.

Deutsche Bahn announced the completion of the deal, valued at £1.6bn, confirming in their statement that Arriva generated about £3.12bn in revenue last year and has 42,000 employees in Europe.

The German operator is still 100 per cent stateowned, but run for profit by its management.

It is one of the world’s largest transport groups and the biggest railway operator and infrastructure owner in Europe.