Arriva takeover timetable faces delay

Train and bus passengers are used to delays, and now Arriva shareholders are facing one too. The proposed timetable for the company's £1.6bn takeover by Deutsche Bahn has slipped by a week, following discussions with the European Commission. Notification of the deal will now be submitted on 22 June, and the scheme of arrangement is expected to become effective - once everything is agreed by all necessary parties - on 27 rather than 20 August. And the company warns the dates could still change, although Deutsche Bahn said it was confident that competition conditions will be satisfied "in a timely manner." The combined company would be Europe's number one passenger transport company, with more than 3bn bus and rail journeys a year. Arriva shares have dipped 1p to 766.5p on the news.