Denmark’s DSV raises €5bn in share sale to fund Schenker acquisition

The Danish logistics company is raising funds to buy Schenker, the logistics unit of German state railway Deutsche Bahn.

DSV said on Friday that it had issued more than 26 million new shares to investors and had raised DKK 37.3bn (Danish Krone), equal to around €5bn.

Shares were sold at DKK 1,410.50 each – approximately €190.

These new investments will make up about 11% of the total shares DSV has – when including the fresh stakes in the total.

The announcement comes almost a month after DSV announced it would buy Schenker, the logistics arm of German state rail operator Deutsche Bahn.

In a statement, CFO of the Danish firm, Michael Ebbe said: “In the past weeks since we announced the deal to acquire Schenker, we have been met with very strong interest from investors all over the world who wish to be a part of the next step of our journey in DSV.

“This underlines the trust in our ability to realise the full potential of Schenker for the benefit of our customers, employees and shareholders.”

DB is looking to sell Schenker to unlock investment for its domestic passenger business and reduce its debt.

The deal values Schenker at €14.3bn and will make DSV the world’s biggest logistics firm.

DSV said last month that it would finance the purchase through a share sale of as much as €5bn and debt financing – meaning through loans.

Opposition to the acquisition

On Wednesday, the Danish company was given the green light for the acquisition, with DB’s supervisory board backing the bid.

This is despite opposition from German labour unions, who were concerned about the prospect of job cuts.

The powerful Verdi union, for example, had previously backed a lower takeover bid from private equity firm CVC Capital Partners. Representatives believed it would result in fewer redundancies.

DSV’s CFO Michael Ebbe told Reuters in September it planned to axe between 1,600 and 1,900 positions out of Schenker’s German workforce of 15,000.

Ebbe stressed, however, that the merged firm will build up employee numbers over a period of five years, so that German staff numbers will exceed current levels.

In Friday’s announcement, DSV added that investments had been made by BlackRock, CPP Investments, Capital Group, and Norges Bank as part of the share offering.

BNP Paribas, Danske Bank, HSBC, JP Morgan and Nordea helped to coordinate the deal.