Arriva is up for sale after current owner Deutsche Bahn renewed plans to offload the bus and train operator.
The German state rail operator had looked to sell Arriva in 2019 but the Covid-19 pandemic put paid to that.
But now it has signalled that it expects to spin-off or sell Arriva, which operates in 11 other European countries, as well as the UK, and employs 46,000 people, by the end of 2024, according to The Times.
Arriva runs CrossCountry and Chiltern train services for the Department for Transport; the London Overground for Transport for London; its own Grand Central train operator between London and the north of England; and bus services in London and around the country.
It was one of the original groups involved in the Conservative privatisation of bus and train services and was bought Deutsche Bahn in 2010 for £1.6bn.
Deutsche Bahn had explored the sale of the business or a stock market float back on 2019 before the pandemic set in.