Deutsche Bahn ready to move on EWS, Transfesa deals

Deutsche Bahn ready to move on EWS, Transfesa deals Deutsche Bahn’s supervisory board Wednesday gave approval to the German logistics giant’s plan to buyout the entire shareholding of English Welsh & Scottish Railway Holding Ltd. (EWS) and acquire a majority share in Spanish company Transportes Ferroviarios Especiales (Transfesa).
   DB Logistics, Deutsche Bahn’s transportation arm that controls Schenker and BAX Global, said the moves, subject to regulatory authority, will extend its central corridors in Western and Southern Europe.
   EWS is the largest British freight railway with revenue of about 770 million euros ($1.04 billion) last year. It has a workforce of about 5,000 and specializes in wagonload transport in the energy industry, industrial freight and building materials segments. EWS is also present in the French market through its subsidiary Euro Cargo Rail.
   Spain’s Transfesa had revenue of roughly 290 million euros ($390.5 million) in 2006. It employs about 1,100 people, providing rail and road transportation in the automotive, bulk goods and general cargo segments.
   “The expansion of our Europe-wide network is our answer to the increasingly complex demands of our customers,” said DB Logistics Chairman Norbert Bensel. “EWS and Transfesa will enable us to close important gaps in the DB Logistics rail freight network. As a result, we shall be better equipped in future to offer our customers attractive products.”