Danish shipping giant DSV and a consortium led by private equity fund CVC Capital Partners submitted their final offers to purchase DB Schenker, the logistics arm of the German railway group Deutsche Bahn. What has been called as the logistics sale of the 21st century should thus be finalised in the coming weeks.

Both interested parties valued the company at around 14 billion euros, according to Reuters. The offer presented by CVC, in cooperation with Carlyle Group and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, includes an option that could see the German government reinvest in DB Schenker with a minority stake. In this case, the consortium seems to be willing to increase its offer to 16 billion euros.

The plan for the CVC-led group is to list DB Schenker on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, ensuring that the company’s headquarters stay within German borders. On the other hand, if the offer presented by DSV is accepted, a few jobs and locations may be sacrificed. The DB group decided to put DB Schenker on sale in December 2023 to help cover its outstanding debts, set at roughly 30 billion euros.