BERLIN (Reuters) - Deutsche Bahn is in exclusive talks with U.S. buyout group Carlyle <CG.O> over the sale of the German rail operator's Arriva international passenger transport unit, a person familiar with the matter said on Friday.
The German rail operator is also still preparing for a potential flotation of Arriva, the person said.
Arriva, which employs 53,000 people across Europe and is expected to be valued at 3-4 billion euros ($3.35-$4.5 billion), runs British rail franchises including Northern and the London Overground as well as buses around the country.
Previously, Apollo <APO.N> had been working on a competing offer.
Deutsche Bahn and Carlyle weren't immediately available to comment.
(Reporting by Markus Wacket,; Writing by Tom Sims; Editing by Hans-Edzard Busemann and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
