Germany's national railway company Deutsche Bahn has completed the sale of its logistics subsidiary DB Schenker to Danish transport and logistics group DSV in a deal worth €14.3 billion.
The company said the sale of DB Schenker would allow it to focus on its core business in Germany.
The transaction was initiated in September 2024 and “in recent weeks” obtained the necessary approvals from antitrust authorities in the European Union and US.
DB CEO Richard Lutz said the sale is the largest corporate transaction in the company’s history and the proceeds will “substantially reduce” its level of debt.
“The sale of Schenker will reduce complexity for DB and allow us to fully focus on our core business,” Lutz said in a statement. “Over the next three years, we will turn our infrastructure, rail operations and profitability around.”
DSV said its aim in acquiring Schenker is to create “one of the world's leading companies in the transport and logistics industry” and plans to invest some €1 billion in Germany over the next three to five years.
The transaction follows DB’s sale of the Arriva Group to US-based investment company I Squared Capital in June 2024.