Deutsche Bahn moots logistics sale

Deutsche Bahn’s supervisory board has asked the management board to prepare the case for a potential sale of up to 100% of its shares in DB Schenker.

Selling DB Schenker would sharpen DB Group’s focus on its Strong Rail strategy and its core business, said the company. The objective of the group’s strategy, launched in 2019, is to shift both passenger and freight traffic to environmentally friendly rail and to expand the rail infrastructure across the country.

DB Schenker has around 76,100 employees in more than 130 countries and has made a significant contribution to the group’s economic growth over many years, according to DB.

In the medium term, however, DB Schenker will need more investment and independence if it is to grow its position in the ever more competitive logistics sector. For this reason, DB said that a sale could open up new opportunities for DB Schenker.

DB said that a starting date for a specific divestment process is not yet decided and a sale would only take place if it is of financial advantage for the group.

In the first half of 2022, DB Schenker generated €1.2 billion in operating profit, the best mid-year EBIT in the company’s 150-year history.