DSV is a contender for DB Schenker, but carrying some baggage...

05/02/2024

Fancy owning DB Schenker? Tomorrow is the last day to submit registration documents to Deutsche Bahn’s banks – although if you had wanted additional information on the forwarder, you would have had to register by mid-January.

According to DVZ, up to 25 players are likely to have registered; a long list that will be whittled down to about five, based on the information they give on topics such as their financial resources and experience of large acquisitions.

That last requirement puts veteran acquisitor DSV nicely in the frame.

Of course, there are other large logistics companies, and Loadstar Premium has more detail here on who might be interested – or it could be financial investors. DB says it reserves the right to “amend the scope of the transaction” to less than 100%. Next steps will be for bidders to receive DB Schenker’s as-yet unpublished 2023 results.

DSV is almost certain to be among the bidders, although according to local media, it has managed to upset its investors recently, and there is some noise around the company in Copenhagen.

According to Denmark’s MobilityWatch, investors have been troubled by news that DSV chairman Thomas Plenborg and new CEO Jens Lund made a private investment in a company called PAL Property Invest, which also boasts Jens Lund’s brother, Søren, and DSV property director Brian Winther Almind as shareholders. PAL Property Invest recently acquired a plot of land for some $1.4m.

But investors say that a close – and financial – relationship between CEO and chairman is poor corporate governance, which DSV appeared to agree with, because as soon as it was in the press, Mr Plenborg sold his shares to Mr Lund.

And it’s not the only focus on DSV and Mr Lund right now. The new CEO has not appointed any women to DSV’s management team of eight, despite the company’s stated aim to increase the number of female managers at director level and above this year. Three of its eight-strong team of board members are women, however.

Meanwhile, it has been revealed that Jens Bjørn Andersen, who left his role as CEO of DSV last week, has set up a company called Bear66, which will provide consultancy and investment services. His termination package from DSV was some $9.7m.