Schenker sale to DSV approved

Acquisition creates world’s largest forwarder

Thne acquisition of Schenker by DSV creates the world's largest forwarder.

The supervisory board of Germany’s Deutsche Bahn AG (DB) on Wednesday approved the sale of forwarder Schenker to Danish logistics group DSV.

The combined companies will have revenue of $43.5 billion, ranking ahead of current leading global forwarder Kuehne+Nagel of Switzerland, at $28.11 billion. The joint workforce will total around 147,000 employees at 1,850 locations in more than 130 countries.

Also on Wednesday, the German government granted its approval of the sale, which is expected to be completed in 2025 pending regulatory approvals, DB said in a release.

Deutsche Bahn had agreed to the sale in September as it refocuses on its core domestic passenger rail business and pays down some $33.25 billion in debt.

The combined logistics networks will have annual volume of 4.3 million twenty-foot equivalent units, 2.64 million tons of airfreight and 1.88 million square feet of warehouse space in more than 60 countries. DSV has said it plans to invest around $1.1 billion in Schenker, founded in Vienna in 1872.

Schenker is the latest acquisition by DSV (DSV.CO). Others have included UTi Worldwide of the U.S., Switzerland-based Panalpina and Kuwaiti Global Integrated Logistics. The Danish company won out over a bid by a private investor consortium led by CVC Capital Partners of New York.

Find more articles by Stuart Chirls here.

More news:

Biden scolds ocean carriers for not paying dockworkers ‘fair’ wages

What shippers need to know about the port strike and cargo insurance

Analysis: Port poker and the East Coast port strike

Upcoming FreightWaves Events
AI

Supply Chain AI Symposium

Past the hype. Join operators, founders, and enterprise leaders figuring out how to deploy AI in supply chain.

July 15, 2026
The Old Post • Chicago, IL
Register Now
FreightTech

F3: Future of Freight Festival

Industry-defining keynotes, rapid-fire technology demos, and industry leaders networking in experiences across Chattanooga - plus the inaugural F3 Awards Dinner featuring the FreightTech and Shipper of Choice reveals.

October 27, 2026 – October 28, 2026
The Signal at Chattanooga Choo Choo • Chattanooga, TN
Register Now
AI Supply Chain AI Symposium Jul 15 • The Old Post • Chicago, IL

Past the hype. Join operators, founders, and enterprise leaders figuring out how to deploy AI in supply chain.

The Old Post • Chicago, IL Register Now
FreightTech F3: Future of Freight Festival Oct 27 – Oct 28 • The Signal at Chattanooga Choo Choo • Chattanooga, TN

Industry-defining keynotes, rapid-fire technology demos, and industry leaders networking in experiences across Chattanooga - plus the inaugural F3 Awards Dinner featuring the FreightTech and Shipper of Choice reveals.

The Signal at Chattanooga Choo Choo • Chattanooga, TN Register Now

Stuart Chirls

Stuart Chirls is a journalist who has covered the full breadth of railroads, intermodal, container shipping, ports, supply chain and logistics for Railway Age, the Journal of Commerce and IANA. He has also staffed at S&P, McGraw-Hill, United Business Media, Advance Media, Tribune Co., The New York Times Co., and worked in supply chain with BASF, the world's largest chemical producer. Reach him at stuartchirls@firecrown.com.