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Arriva〔(Companies House extract company no 347103 ) Arriva plc formerly Cowie Group plc formerly T Cowie plc〕 is a multinational public transport company headquartered in Sunderland, England. It was established in 1938 as T Cowie and through a number of mergers and acquisitions was renamed Arriva in 1997 and became a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn in 2010. Arriva operates bus, coach, train, tram and waterbus services in 14 countries across Europe. As at October 2013 it employed 55,900 people and operated 1.5 billion passenger journeys annually.〔(Arriva at a glance ) Arriva October 2013〕 It operates as three divisions: UK Bus, UK Rail and Mainland Europe.〔(Completed acquisition by Arriva Passenger Services Limited of the remainder of the entire share capital of Centrebus Holdings Limited ) Competition & Markets Authority 6 May 2014 page 2〕 ==History== The company was founded by TSK Cowie in Sunderland in 1938 as a second-hand motorcycle dealer trading as T Cowie Limited.〔(History and growth ) Arriva〕 In 1948 the business was re-launched by Tom Cowie, the founder's son, still selling motorcycles.〔(Background ) Sir Tom Cowie〕 T Cowie plc was floated in December 1964, and in 1965 it bought out the first of many car dealerships. In 1972 it formed Cowie Contract Hire, which became the largest contract hire business in the United Kingdom.〔 In 1980 T Cowie made its first foray into bus operations, buying the Grey-Green operation in London from the George Ewer Group.〔〔("How Arriva arrived in the Capital" ) ''Focus Transport'' February 2012〕 In 1984 T Cowie plc acquired the Hanger Group, which included Interleasing, a large vehicle leasing business.〔〔(History ) Masterlease〕 Further leasing companies acquired were Marley Leasing,〔("Cowie is raising £45 million for expansion" ) ''Glasgow Herald'' 24 September 1987〕 RoyScot Drive〔("Henly's criticises jump in earnings at Cowie" ) ''The Independent'' 31 July 1992〕 and Ringway Leasing.〔 Following the retirement of Tom Cowie, the company was renamed Cowie Group plc in April 1994.〔 As part of the privatisation of London bus services, Cowie Group acquired the Leaside Buses and South London Transport business units in September 1994 and January 1995.〔(The Arriva London Story. ) Arriva London.〕 Cowie plc bought United Automobile Services and British Bus in July and August 1996, both of which had acquired a number of privatised bus companies.〔〔(Principal bus operating subsidiaries of British Bus ). Competition Commission 1997.〕 As a result of these transactions, in October 1996 Cowie Group was reclassified on the stock exchange from a motor dealer to a transport group.〔("All change as Cowie swaps to buses" ). ''Lancashire Telegraph'' (Blackburn). 8 October 1996.〕 In November 1997 the company was rebranded as Arriva plc.〔 In that year it also bought Unibus in Denmark, its first venture outside the United Kingdom.〔 In June 1999 Arriva sold its vehicle-hire business to General Motors.〔 In February 2000 Arriva purchased MTL Holdings, which included its first UK rail franchises, Merseyrail Electrics and Northern Spirit.〔〔(Recommended Cash Offer for MTL Services ). Arriva. 18 February 2000.〕〔"Arriva buys MTL for £84m". ''Rail'' (Peterborough). Issue 378. 8 March 2000. page 13.〕 In 2002/03 Arriva sold its motor-retailing businesses and in February 2006 it sold its vehicle-rental business to Northgate. In April 2008 the LNWR train maintenance business in England was acquired.〔("Arriva acquires LNWR" ). ''Railway Gazette'' (London). 18 November 2008.〕 In 2010 it was reported that the government-owned railway companies of France (SNCF) and Germany (Deutsche Bahn) were considering making takeover bids for the business.〔("FTSE flat but Arriva perks up on talk French backing to bid" ) ''The Daily Telegraph'' 24 March 2010〕〔("Arriva moves ahead on bid battle hopes" ). ''The Guardian'' 24 March 2010.〕 SNCF subsidiary Keolis and Arriva entered discussions regarding a merger, but in April 2010 Deutsche Bahn made a takeover offer for Arriva at 775 pence a share (£1.585 billion).〔("Deutsche Bahn buys Arriva for £1.5bn" ). ''Financial Times'' (London). 22 April 2010.〕 The takeover was approved by the European Commission in August 2010, conditional on Deutsche Bahn disposing of some Arriva services in Germany.〔(DB/Arriva ) European Commission 11 August 2010〕 The takeover took effect on 27 August 2010, and Arriva was delisted from the London Stock Exchange on 31 August 2010. In late 2011 Arriva acquired Grand Central Railway〔("Arriva in Grand Central Railway takeover" ). ''BBC News''. 4 November 2011.〕 and sold its Arriva Scotland West bus operation.〔("Arriva exits Scotland with Sale to McGill's" ) ''Bus & Coach Professional'' 14 December 2011〕 In May 2013 Arriva purchased Veolia Transport's Central European business with 3,400 vehicles.〔("DB acquires Central European business operations from Veolia" ). Deutsche Bahn. 16 May 2013.〕〔("Arriva takes Veolia business" ) ''Bus & Coach Professional'' 20 May 2013〕〔("Arriva takes the lead in central and east Europe" ). ''Passenger transport''. 22 May 2013.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Arriva」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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