The German railway has started the sale of its internationally active logistics subsidiary Schenker. Interested parties can now bid!
A corresponding advertisement was placed in the “Wall Street Journal” on Tuesday, the state-owned company announced.
The proceeds should go entirely to the railway and largely reduce its debt.
Schenker profits recently fell
The logistics giant Schenker is highly profitable, but has recently seen a significant decline in profits. This was reported by the Reuters agency, citing explosive internal company figures.
According to the figures, Schenker’s operating profit for the current year will be just over one billion euros. An even slightly weaker result is expected for 2024. For comparison: In 2022, Schenker’s profit was 1.8 billion euros.
In December last year, the railway supervisory board commissioned the group to examine and prepare the sale “of up to 100 percent of DB Schenker”. At the end of September, the railway announced that the examination had been completed and the search for a buyer was beginning.
Many critics believe that the company, with its high share of air, sea and road freight, is not a good fit for the railways. In view of the many problems in train traffic, they are demanding that the railway should concentrate more on its core business again. To do this, critics say, it should unbundle its extensive corporate structure with hundreds of subsidiaries around the world.
In addition, possible billions in proceeds from a donor sale would not be inconvenient for the upcoming extensive investments in the rail infrastructure.