Maersk is apparently out of the bidding race for DB Schenker. Two candidates are still in the running: DSV from Denmark and a consortium of investors led by CVC.
The Danish shipping company A.P. Møller-Maersk had initially made it to the final round as one of four remaining bidders. Now, however, concrete sums had to be put on the table as part of a binding offer, and this was done by others.
The German government and Deutsche Bahn are hoping to raise up to €15bn from the sale of the profitable logistics subsidiary DB Schenker. As the news agency Bloomberg reports, the Danish transport logistics group is offering €14bn. A consortium of funds led by CVC Capital Partners is even more generous – the private equity investors are apparently prepared to transfer up to €16bn. This would include €3bn as a re-investment in DB Schenker.
Maersk, MSC, DHL, and Kühne+Nagel come away empty-handed
According to earlier information, a buyer is to be determined for a vote by the time of the Deutsche Bahn Supervisory Board meeting in September. In the first rounds, other high-calibre players had already dropped out or taken themselves out of the running. These included DHL, MSC, Kühne+Nagel and financial investors such as Advent, Bain and Blackstone.
DB Schenker specialises in road transport and offers international air and sea freight services. The logistics subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn is profitable and has provided massive support for Deutsche Bahn’s balance sheet in recent years. Last year, Schenker contributed a profit of €1.13bn.
A large part of the proceeds from the sale will be used to pay off the debts of Deutsche Bahn, which is said to have accumulated liabilities of €34bn. Originally, there was talk of expected proceeds of €10-15bn.
