The Finnish state railway company VR has acquired the Arriva Sverige train and bus operator and is taking its share of the Swedish public transport market.
Arriva operates public transport in southern Sweden and Ostrobothnia in both regional and urban traffic. It has about 3,800 employees in the country and will become a subsidiary of the larger VR Group.
President and CEO of VR Lauri Sipponen stated in a press release on Thursday that the purpose of the acquisition was to prepare VR for the start of competition on the Finnish rail network.
The company aims to advance in the electric bus market in Sweden, utilizing its experience in the same sector in Finland.
"We are a pioneer in the electrification of buses and we are now able to speed up the electrification of Swedish buses and offer our expertise to our Swedish subsidiary," said Topi SimolaVR’s Director of Passenger Transport.
The company is also aiming for economies of scale in the acquisition of new buses and Arriva’s annual turnover of EUR 300 million in Sweden.
The price of the acquisition itself has not been disclosed.