GERMAN Rail (DB) has completed the sale of its Schenker logistics division to Danish transport and logistics group DSV. The deal is worth €14.3bn and is described by both DB and DSV as the largest single transaction in their respective histories.
DSV says the addition of Schenker will effectively double its size, enabling it to achieve revenue of approximately €41.6bn with a workforce of nearly 160,000 employees in more than 90 countries.
DB reports that the sale proceeded according to plan and was successfully completed ahead of schedule. After commencing the process in December 2023, DB’s supervisory board approved the sale to DSV in October 2024. The disposal of DB’s most profitable subsidiary is intended to reduce net debt, which had reached €32.6bn at the end of 2024.
“For DB, the Schenker sale means less complexity and full concentration on our core business, which we will fundamentally restructure over the next three years in the three dimensions of infrastructure, operations, and profitability,” says DB CEO, Richard Lutz.
DSV received final approvals for the acquisition from antitrust authorities in the European Union (EU) and United States in recent weeks. It says that through the combined company it is aiming to strengthen its market position and to continue to grow by offering enhanced services and economies of scale. It has also committed to invest approximately €1bn in Germany over the next three to five years.
“With this acquisition, we become a world-leading player in global transport and logistics, at a time when global supply chains are more in focus than ever before, and our customers need a reliable and agile global network of services and products,” says Jens H Lund, DSV group CEO.
