Arriva has confirmed yesterday's market speculation of a possible takeover bid, and its shares have accelerated by more than 12%.
The talk was of a 700p a share offer for the bus and rail group, with Deutsche Bahn one name in the frame. Arriva recently broke off talks to merge its business with the Keolis transport unit of France's SNCF, and since then traders have been speculating about possible suitors, with private equity also mentioned as a possiblity.
Today it said it had received an unsolicited approach and put in the usual caveat about there being no certainty an offer would be made. Its shares have jumped 70.5p to 650p, valuing the company at around £1.3bn. At 700p it would be valued at close to £1.4bn.
The news has also lifted shares in rivals FirstGroup and National Express.
