French transport group Veolia Transdev expects to earn at least 1.3 billion pounds from the sale of assets it had put on sale in Germany, Belgium, Finland and Sweden.

Among those participating in the auction of assets are international transport groups and investment funds, according to Veolia Transdev finance chief.  The company aims to conclude the sale by the end of the year.

Proceeds from the auction will be utilized to cut debt and increase operating earnings by 30 percent.  It is also being eyed to fund expansion in Asia, North America and Australia, the company said.

Earlier, Veolia Transdev, which is co-owned by Veolia Environnement and French state-owned bank Caisse des Depots et Consignations CDCEC.UL (CDC),  announced  that instead of the 27 countries they are operating at present, it would focus on 17 countries by 2015.  The  move is expected to bring revenues down to 5.1 billion pounds from the current 6.5 billion pounds.