DENMARK's dsv has agreed to buy Schenker, the logistics arm of German state rail operator Deutsche Bahn, for EUR14.3 billion (US$15.85 billion) in a deal that would make it the world's biggest logistics company.
The acquisition will be the biggest by a Danish company and, according to DSV, propel it above DHL Logistics and Swiss group Kuehne und Nagel, reports Reuters.
The takeover in both volume and revenue will still only give the group between 6 per cent and 7 per cent of a highly fragmented global logistics market.
DSV, which started as a small enterprise of 10 truckers in 1976, has grown through a string of acquisitions - sometimes taking over companies larger than itself.
'The size of this one is actually larger than all the transactions we've done before,' CEO Jens Lund told journalists.
Deutsche Bahn put Schenker up for sale last year to concentrate on its core railway business in Germany and reduce its debt.
The all-cash transaction will be financed through a combination of an equity raising of EUR4-5 billion and debt financing, DSV said.
The combined group will have revenue of DKK293 billion (US$43.52 billion) based on 2023 results, with a workforce of about 147,000 across more than 90 countries.
DSV's CFO Michael Ebbe told Reuters it planned to cut between 1,600 and 1,900 jobs out of Schenker's German workforce of 15,000 but stressed that with EUR1 billion investments planned in Germany the combined group will have more employees in Germany five years from now than Schenker and DSV have combined today.
German labour unions have warned against selling Schenker to DSV, fearing potential job losses. As part of the deal, DSV will spend EUR10 million in extra compensation to soothe union resistance, Mr Ebbe said.
The deal, subject to regulatory and German ministerial approval as well as by Deutsche Bahn's supervisory board, is expected to close in the second quarter of next year.
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The acquisition will be the biggest by a Danish company and, according to DSV, propel it above DHL Logistics and Swiss group Kuehne und Nagel, reports Reuters.
The takeover in both volume and revenue will still only give the group between 6 per cent and 7 per cent of a highly fragmented global logistics market.
DSV, which started as a small enterprise of 10 truckers in 1976, has grown through a string of acquisitions - sometimes taking over companies larger than itself.
'The size of this one is actually larger than all the transactions we've done before,' CEO Jens Lund told journalists.
Deutsche Bahn put Schenker up for sale last year to concentrate on its core railway business in Germany and reduce its debt.
The all-cash transaction will be financed through a combination of an equity raising of EUR4-5 billion and debt financing, DSV said.
The combined group will have revenue of DKK293 billion (US$43.52 billion) based on 2023 results, with a workforce of about 147,000 across more than 90 countries.
DSV's CFO Michael Ebbe told Reuters it planned to cut between 1,600 and 1,900 jobs out of Schenker's German workforce of 15,000 but stressed that with EUR1 billion investments planned in Germany the combined group will have more employees in Germany five years from now than Schenker and DSV have combined today.
German labour unions have warned against selling Schenker to DSV, fearing potential job losses. As part of the deal, DSV will spend EUR10 million in extra compensation to soothe union resistance, Mr Ebbe said.
The deal, subject to regulatory and German ministerial approval as well as by Deutsche Bahn's supervisory board, is expected to close in the second quarter of next year.
SeaNews Turkey