Schenker has been sold, but not to the U.S. private equity group vying for control of the German logistics provider.
Transport provider DSV of Denmark has emerged as the winning bidder, Reuters reported, in a deal worth 14 billion euros ($15.43 billion).
A consortium of private investors led by CVC Capital Partners of New York failed in its bid for Schenker, a unit of German railway Deutsche Bahn (DB).
A preliminary agreement would be signed in the coming days, the news service reported, quoting sources at the railway and in the German government. DB’s supervisory board is expected to meet in the coming days to approve the sale.
Schenker has more than 70,000 employees and operates 1,850 locations worldwide.
The deal would make DSV the leading global forwarder by volume and revenue, ahead of Kuehne & Nagel of Switzerland, Reuters reported, quoting a market analyst.
The sale comes as Deutsche Bahn refocuses investment on its core domestic passenger rail business and chips away at DB’s 30 billion euro debt.
Schenker is the latest acquisition by DSV, which in the past included UTi Worldwide of the U.S., Swiss-based Panalpina and Kuwaiti Global Integrated Logistics.