The sale of the logistics arm of Germany’s national railway has the potential to create a new supply chain powerhouse in the United States.
Final bids value DB Schenker, a unit of Deutsche Bahn, at as much as $17 billion, according to published reports.
The bids from a consortium led by U.S.-based CVC Capital Partners and Danish transport company DSV value the business at around 14 billion euros ($15.6 billion).
Schenker operates 1,850 locations worldwide with more than 725 warehouses and 72,000 employees. Revenue for its land, sea and air services was $10.43 billion through the first six months of 2024, down from $11.17 billion in 2023.
The company has U.S. headquarters in Chesapeake, Virginia, with estimated revenue of $3.5 billion. Services include dedicated freight brokerage, warehousing, ocean freight and air cargo.
A winning bid by DSV could make the combined entity tops in U.S. logistics revenue and airfreight, and third in ocean freight based on 2023 data.
The published reports, citing anonymous sources, said the CSV bid includes an option for the German government to acquire a minority stake, which would raise the value of the deal to $17.73 billion.
Berlin is selling Schenker in a move to focus on its domestic rail network and help pay down its debt of more than $30 billion.
The reports said CVC would eventually list Schenker on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange while maintaining its brand and keeping its headquarters in Germany.
A spokesman for Deutsche Bahn in an email had no comment on details of the sale. “The most important criterion remains that a sale must be economically advantageous for Deutsche Bahn,” the spokesman said, without elaborating.
A statement from a communications firm said CVC also would not comment.
A final decision on the sale is expected in the coming weeks and would close in 2025.
This story has been updated to reflect no comment from CVC.