That's a big bet.
From Reuters, September 13:
- DSV to become world's biggest logistics company with Schenker acquisition
- Deal financed through equity raising and debt financing
- DSV to cut up to 1,900 Schenker jobs in Germany
Denmark's DSV (DSV.CO), has agreed to buy Schenker, the logistics arm of German state rail operator Deutsche Bahn, for 14.3 billion euros ($15.85 billion) in a deal that would make it the world's biggest logistics company.
The acquisition will be the biggest by a Danish company and, according to DSV, propel it above DHL Logistics and Swiss group Kuehne und Nagel (KNIN.S), in both volume and revenue, but will still only give the group between 6% and 7% of a highly fragmented global logistics market.
DSV, which started as a small enterprise of 10 truckers in 1976, has grown through a string of acquisitions - sometimes taking over companies larger than itself.
"The size of this one is actually larger than all the transactions we've done before," CEO Jens Lund told journalists.Deutsche Bahn put Schenker up for sale last year to concentrate on its core railway business in Germany and reduce its debt....
....MUCH MORE
Selling crown jewels to foreigners reminds me of when China was making forays into Germany's Mittelstand:
The Invisible Hand Touches Germany in No-no Place: China Grabs Putzmeister
Followed by:
"Wary of China, Germany plans rapid state intervention to protect key industries"
The German concern for their small and medium sized enterprises goes back quite a ways. Here's an old-timey pic via Wikipedia:
role of the Mittelstand in Walter Wilhelms
„Mission des Mittelstandes“ (Mission of the Mittelstand, 1925)
Without the Mittelstand you are without Germany's export engine and without exports (and with Mutti's recent comments on free speech, yikes!) you are left with a Teutonic Belarus.
But without the charm.
If interested see also: "China’s strategic investments in Europe: The case of maritime ports"
Followed by:
"China’s targeted corporate shopping spree to continue, especially in Europe"
Resulting in:
China Now Pressuring German Manufacturers In the EU Market
And:
China's COSCO Near Deal To Buy Into Port Of Hamburg
If interested see also:
A Tale of Two Cities: Hamburg and Lubeck—Lessons in Trade, Geography and Urbanism
"Hamburg Is at the Heart of Germany's Growing Dilemma Over China"
We've been following this story for a while.
Now it appears we may have to brush up on Viking raids on Germany.
