August 21 (SeeNews) - Transport company Arriva Deutsche Bahn said on Monday it has acquired a 78.34% share in Croatia’s top ranking private bus company, Autotrans Group.
Arriva is now the number one private bus operator in Croatia with responsibility for running long distance and local services throughout the country, it said in a statement.
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Investing in Croatia is part of Arriva’s continuing strategy of expansion throughout Europe, it noted.
"Croatia, and more broadly Central and Eastern Europe, represents an important growth opportunity for our expanding business and the Autotrans Group represented a good strategic fit for us," said Manfred Rudhart, CEO of Arriva Group. "We will now focus on doing what we do best, which is to drive improvements for our customers in the region."
Arriva has operated in Croatia since 2013, and the deal with Autotrans signals the company’s commitment to improving public transport services in the country.
The company operates in 14 countries across Europe, employing around 60,000 people and delivering more than 2.2 billion passenger journeys every year.
In 2016, the company had revenues of more than 5 billion euro ($5.9 billion) and it invested 359 million euro in its operations throughout the continent.
($=0.851754 euro)