The Supervisory Board of Deutsche Bahn AG has approved the sale of DB Schenker to the Danish transport and logistics group, DSV, at a meeting on 1 October.
At the same time, the federal government granted the approval required for the transaction under the Federal Budget Code (BHO). The sale is expected to be completed in 2025 once all regulatory approvals have been obtained.
On 13 September 2024, the Management Board of DB AG signed an agreement under which it sold its logistics subsidiary to DSV for an enterprise value of €14.3 billion ($15.8 billion). Including the expected interest income until closing, the total sales value is up to €14.8 billion ($16.3 billion).
In December 2023, DB launched an open process for the sale of DB Schenker per EU law. As a result, DSV has prevailed with the most economically advantageous offer for Deutsche Bahn, reported the DP Group.
DB Schenker, with around 72,700 employees at over 1,850 locations in more than 130 countries, will be able to continue its development in the future in partnership with DSV.
Planned investments of around €1 billion ($1.1 billion) in the coming years are intended to promote additional growth potential.
“The sale of DB Schenker marks an important milestone for DB in its efforts to fully focus on restructuring the rail infrastructure in Germany and providing climate-friendly passenger and freight transport operations in Germany and Europe,” explained Werner Gatzer, Chairman of the DB Supervisory Board.
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“We have set clear goals to structurally modernise Deutsche Bahn in the areas of infrastructure, operations and profitability and focus on the core business,” added Dr. Richard Lutz, CEO of Deutsche Bahn.
“The proceeds from the sale will significantly reduce DB’s debt and thus make an important contribution to the financial stability of the DB Group. At the same time, DB Schenker will gain a strong strategic owner in DSV.”
Earlier this year, DSV announced the opening of a new office in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina.
