In a statement, Maersk CEO Vincent Clerk has confirmed that Maersk has decided to withdraw from the process of bidding to acquire DB Schenker.
In late may, Maersk was revealed as one of the bidders for DB Schenker, with DSV, Bahri, and a consortium consisting of CVC Capital Partners, ADIA, and GIC, all in the race.
Previous bids reportedly ranged from €14 billion to over €15 billion. The sale proceeds are intended to help Deutsche Bahn reduce its significant debt burden, currently around €34 billion.
“Over the past months, Maersk has conducted a review of the DB Schenker business and, during the past few weeks, there has been an opportunity to participate in an in-depth due diligence. Following this review, Maersk has decided to withdraw from the process,” said Clerk.
Maersk’s CEO added:
“We said we would look into this opportunity, and we did. Our investigation confirmed DB Schenker as an interesting company with a comprehensive portfolio in the logistics market and with further potential to unlock for the future.”
According to Clerk, an in-depth review conducted by Maersk also identified “areas of challenges from an integration perspective”.
Following this finding, the company concluded that “acquiring DB Schenker would not be the right thing to do for our business at this time.”
“It has been a good process, ensuring that we can make the most well-informed decision possible,” said Clerk.
In reaction to the news, Maersk’s share price increased as much at 7% this lunchtime. Meanwhile, DSV, thought to now be in pole position to acquire DB Schenker, also saw its share price jump as much as 6.6%.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson at Deutsche Bahn has told Dow Jones Newswires that the process of selling DB Schenker is moving on as planned.
“We are currently in intensive discussions with the various parties interested in DB Schenker,” said the spokesperson.
Photo: JIP, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons