As widely anticipated, the approval of the deal is conditional on the sale of Arriva's German rail and bus businesses to a third party. Arriva is the third largest regional rail operator in Germany after DB and Veolia. "We welcome this decision by the EC because it allows DB to fully exploit the opportunities of liberalisation," says DB CEO Dr Rüdiger Grube. "We had no interest in Arriva's German business, we accept the imposition of the package sale of these subsidiaries, and will fully implement them constructively." Competition vice-president in charge of competition policy Mr Joaquín Almunia said: "This decision shows that the Commission is open for cross-border integration in the newly liberalised transport markets, provided that such transactions do not in any way reduce competition, in particular in the home market of the acquirer. The divestiture of Arriva Germany will ensure that competition on the German rail and bus markets keep on developing as intended by EU legislation." Arriva operates train and bus services in 12 European countries, and its rail portfolio includes two passenger franchises in Britain, Arriva Trains Wales and CrossCountry, as well as regional concessions in the Netherlands, western Denmark, and the Skåne region of Sweden.
