Arriva, a British bus and rail operator, confirmed today that it had got a takeover offer worth£2.4 billion by its German rival Deutsche Bahn. The deal, if closed, would create one of the biggest transport groups in Europe. However, Arriva, which also holds a series of rail franchises and other services among 12 European companies, said that it is in advanced talks about the offer from Deutsche Bahn.

This deal is supposed to be the most expensive buy in the history of Deutsche Bahn. Arriva, the third largest bus company in Britain, said in a statement to the stock market that Deutsche Bahn had given a takeover offer of £1.6 billion or 775 pence per share in cash and a proposed final dividend of 18.8 pence per share.

The total offer of Deutsche Bahn will be around 793.8 pence per share. The offer of Deutsche Bahn represents a 34% premium to Arriva's closing share price on March 16; the day before it emerged the company had been approached by Deutsche and 5% premium on last Friday's price. The supervisory board of Deutsche Bahn is expected to approve the deal on Wednesday. On the other hand, the board of Arriva is also expected to recommend the deal to its investors later this week.